


All Your Claws

by Orangeships



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcoholic Ciel, And Ciel can be a little shit, Character Death, I'm Going to Hell, Incest, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sebastian's a sadistic demon, Suicidal Thoughts, Top Sebastian, Vincent/Ciel, cab driver Sebastian, right after I finish this fic, sub ciel, supermodel Ciel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:55:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9318104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orangeships/pseuds/Orangeships
Summary: Ciel Phantomhive is a famous model, a alcoholic, and Vincent's favorite lover.Sebastian Michaelis is a demon and a cab driver.Ciel's soul is corrupted and Sebastian is more than interested.This fic has smut between Vincent and Ciel, and it's not always consensual. So you have been warned. There's no shota or pedophilia because Ciel's in his late-teens to early twenties.





	1. I'm Ciel Phantomhive, By the Way

**Author's Note:**

> My main tumblr is [here](http://orangejuicehp.tumblr.com/) and my sebaciel tumblr is [here](https://orangeships.tumblr.com/)

Ciel knelt at his father's feet, body shaking. He was ashamed of his trembling hands and frustrated that there was no place for him to hide them. Kneeling there, bare and vulnerable, should entice nothing but numbness now, since he had done this so many times before. Still, when Vincent grabbed a fistful of Ciel’s hair and filled his son’s mouth with cum, the boy felt tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. He swallowed, taking along with the bitter taste of cum his dignity and whatever he had left of his pride. It was only for a moment, anyway. And moments were barely anything to a human life. Ciel could withstand a moment, he told himself. He looked up at his father, tongue tracing delectably over his bottom lip. The sick, lustful look Ciel gets back in return makes him shudder.

Vincent pulled him to his feet, _finally_ , and pressed their mouths together in a sloppy, disgusting kiss. Ciel moaned as convincing as a broken boy could, and wrapped his arms around his father's neck. They melted against each other, Vincent coming down from his high. He whispered love into Ciel’s ears, brushed hair out of the boy’s blue eyes, swiped a thumb gently across the bruise already forming on his wrist.

Vincent apologized for the violence, as he always did. Those moments were rare, too, and Ciel survived them just the same. Vincent was always careful not to leave bruises, but tonight he had been reckless. Ciel nodded his forgiveness even though he had none left to give, and slouched in his father's arms.

“I love you, you know.”

Ciel didn’t reply. Vincent’s soft fingers traced lines up and down Ciel's back, and while the last thing he wanted was being touched, he didn't breathe a word of complaint. Better to take it silently than to take it weeping.

When his father was lost in drunken stupor, Ciel’s protests only spurred him on, and that was truly terrifying. Vincent was always more vicious when he was drunk.

A car door closed outside, and finally, _finally_ , Vincent let him go. Ciel scrambled to his room, shutting the door as quietly as he could even though he wanted to slam it. Wanted to wreck chaos. The front door opened and closed, and his parents’ voices drifted up to fill his ears.

Vincent said, _Hello, darling_ , and Rachel responded with a question about their day. They managed to keep up the pretense, Rachel setting down her things to kiss Vincent on the cheek, Vincent telling her about the dinner he prepared. Then the arguing started. Ciel didn’t even know what it was about this time; he hardly thought it mattered anyway.  

Ciel covered his ears, angrily, childishly. Tears spilled down his pale cheeks, drops staining the carpet as he fell to his knees. A sob tried to hollow its way out somewhere in the back of his throat. Bile slid up to join in on the protest. He swallowed it all down, breathing deep and full. He gave himself a moment of weakness and pain. Then he became Ciel Phantomhive again.

 

 _You're gorgeous._ They sang praises all day, cheerleaders with cameras instead of pompoms. A girl approached, a comb in her hand. She fussed over him and he let her, closing his eyes for a second and taking a break from all the bright lights. Someone gave him directions, and he followed along like a puppet. _Move your hand here. Smile more. Tilt your body this way._ Ciel posed for them and obliged every order, his mind numb from the bottle of wine he had guzzled only minutes ago.

Some days, he found it easier to pretend, to smile confidently and do his job while keeping his thoughts at bay. Some days, Ciel could separate business from personal matters. Today was not one of those days. Today the thoughts and images plagued him, lingered at the edges of his mind while the figure of his father lingered at the edge of his vision. Nothing felt concrete, like he had been floating in a chlorine-filled pool ever since the first time. His mouth went dry, thirsting for the bitter taste of wine again. But Ciel wasn’t anything if not a perfectly trained model, and models did not hold off photoshoots to sate their addictions.

He tugged the jacket and tilted his head to the side, flashing the cameras a dazzling smirk. Then he raked a hand through his dark hair and looked off to the side, lips parted. There was a role to be played and money to be made, so he pushed away the dark thoughts as best as he could.

“Darling, you’re magnificent, as always.” Nina scurried to his side, straightening out a tie and dusting off any wrinkles, needlessly, because the photoshoot was over. The lights dimmed and Ciel blinked away the white spots in his vision. Nina took his hand and led him to a long table, decorated with fruits and snacks.

“Thank you, Nina,” Ciel said absentmindedly. He picked a cookie and nibbled on it.

Nina Hopkins stared at him the way she often did, her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line. She tapped a finger against her chin while Ciel ate his cookie.

“Don’t you need a costume for the charity ball next week?” He rolled his eyes. Nina never stopped trying to design for him, even though she owned a multimillion dollar company and was far too busy designing clothes for people all over the world.

“I was going to wear a suit.” He was going to ditch, actually, but he couldn’t really tell her that. Plus, he felt guilty for trying to back out of going to a _charity_ ball. That sounded like an ass thing to do.

“It’s a costume ball. You’ll need a costume.” The last time Ciel Phantomhive allowed Nina to design his costume, he walked around as some kind of overly sexual pirate. Vincent had laughed and teased him endlessly, then they’d fucked in Ciel’s room while his mother slept across the hall.  

“We can talk about it later, Nina. I have to get home.” He waved her goodbye and snuck to his dressing room before someone else could catch him.

The wine bottle waited for him on the vanity table, nearly empty and no longer chilled. Ciel brought it to his lips and squeezed his eyes shut. Mirrored-him looked back when he set down the bottle and planted his palms on the table. His eyes were wild, the color of sapphires in the dark. He ran a hand down his face, dragging his skin with his fingers as he went (even though you were never supposed to touch your facial skin in such a way). The whites of his eyes were too white, and he looked malnourished (despite what all those people out there tried to tell him). Ciel glanced at the empty wine bottle, then back at his mirrored self. He trashed the wine and stripped off Nina’s new designs.

 

The streets were crowded with cars and people, as they usually were in overpopulated cities. Ciel missed his house in the countryside, but knew better than go home. At least out here, he was where his father was not. Not physically, anyway.

He tugged the cap lower, casting shadows over his face. In the bright sunlight, the gesture didn’t look too suspicious. He had forgot to bring his sunglasses. The weather was warm, a perfect summer day, and a gentle breeze tousled any strand of hair not hidden under his cap.

Pictures of him were everywhere, on magazines, billboards, ads. Ciel squinted up at a giant picture version of himself, blessing the people below with a grin meant to swoon. In the ad, his hair fell perfectly over his right eye, and the shirt he wore rose up just the right amount to show a peak of bare skin. A group of girls under the billboard squealed and pointed. Ciel ducked his head and smirked.

Normally, a car would be waiting to pick him up and take him to his building, but Ciel thought it was a nice day to take a walk. He cut through the park, where only a handful people were despite the warm temperature. Several geese wandered around in search of food. Ciel danced around them, carefully avoiding the creatures as well as the people.

He heard the single snap first, then what seemed like a million followed. To his left, a group of paparazzis crouched, their fingers tapping on their cameras. Ciel swallowed and froze for a moment, then briskly walked away. He practically flew through the trees, trying to make it back to the street before the paparazzi could catch up. A groan tumbled out of his mouth when he realized he would have to run all the way to his building if they were still chasing him. He looked back, and yep, they were still chasing him.

He plowed onto the road and waved his hand for a taxi. Some of the men and women were already only feets from him, their cameras lighting up. A car finally pulled up, bright yellow and cramped. Ciel climbed in the backseat and held a hand up to cover his face.

“The Funtom Tower, please.” The driver looked at him in the rearview mirror, slowly easing back into traffic. “Make it quick, _if you don’t mind_.” Ciel gritted his teeth and gave the taxi driver a murderous glare.

 

Sebastian Michaelis had dealt with many, _many_ rude and obnoxious people before. Taxi drivers learned to put up with that sort of thing, but Sebastian’s newest client sat like the mere thought of being in a taxi pained him. The boy fidgeted, folding his hands in his lap once the car pulled away, then leaned his elbow on the closed window and scowled.

“First time?” Sebastian didn’t usually talk to the people who sat in his car. Most of the time, they pretended he didn’t exist.

“What?” The boy’s eyes met his in the rearview mirror, and Sebastian was once again taken by the color of those orbs. “Oh. Yes.” Sebastian waited for him to say more, but he doesn’t.

“What happened? Your limo broke down?” The car paused at a red light, and Sebastian took his eyes off the road for a brief second to study the boy sulking in his backseat. His face was familiar, and the blue eyes were piercing and feral, but there was something about him that felt incredibly sad.

“I was walking, and…” The boy’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t see?” Sebastian waited for a mother and her daughter to cross before continuing down the road.

“No. Wasn’t paying attention.” All he got was a scoff in response.

Then after a moment, “What kind of cab driver doesn’t pay attention? How do you see customers?” Sebastian smirked even though neither of them could see the other’s face.

“Customers are the ones standing on the road with their hands out. I pay attention to those.” There was only silence following. “Funtom Tower. You’re a celebrity.”

“Yes.” Ah, he got the boy’s attention again. “Yes. Wait, you don’t know who I am?” Sebastian swallowed the urge to roll his eyes and make a disgusted noise at the same time. He settled for the one his customer won’t be able to see.

“Should I?” Sebastian asked. He wondered what the boy might look like right now. Probably wide-eyed and insulted. Too bad, there went his tip.

“I… My face is practically on every building.” There was movement, and then the boy leaned forward. He pointed with a long, thin arm at one of the skyscrapers. On its side was an ad flashing a grinning model. Sebastian raised an eyebrow and did his best to not look impressed.  

“ _What?_ ” The boy’s breath hitched, and Sebastian wants to smirk. It was so easy to distraught celebrities. “What does that look mean?” Sebastian switched lanes and prepared for a temper tantrum. A few times, he had drunk actors rant to him about the hardships of being rich and famous, then handed him three dollars and vomit for tip.

“I don’t think it’s a very good picture of you.” Sebastian’s eyes flicked up again. He couldn’t help himself.

“I never asked for your opinion.” The words came out playful, and Sebastian resisted the urge to chuckle. “You’re just jealous your face isn't plastered on every billboard.” A finger jabbed his shoulder and Sebastian froze for a second. He inched away from the boy’s touch. He didn’t seem to notice. “Although, you’re certainly good looking enough.” Sebastian’s eyes widened at the unexpected compliment. When he looked at the rearview mirror again, a coy smirk and sly eyes met his stare.

He parted his lips to reply, but the words didn’t come and they were already in front of the tower. Sebastian nodded to the dashboard instead, where a price flickered red at them. “That’ll be $14.47,” he said. The boy in the backseat hummed in response.

“Keep the change.” Two twenty dollar bills slide onto Sebastian’s open palm. The cab driver stared at the bills while his customer opened the door, putting one foot out. “I’m Ciel Phantomhive, by the way,” he said. Sebastian turned around to nod curtly at him.

“Sebastian Michaelis.” Then, just before Ciel left entirely, “Here’s my card, incase you’re getting chased by a mob again.”

He watched Ciel enter the building, then drove off. There was rarely anyone on this particular part of the city that required the service of a taxi, so Sebastian headed back to the more tourist-friendly streets, looking up every so often at the billboards flying past.

 

Souls were such delicate things, so fragile and easily corrupted. Most demons preferred the pure ones, ones that glowed pale gold and tasted sweet and light on the tongue. Sebastian tended to drift towards the souls that had been tainted beyond repair. Those were special, rare, exquisite, and enticing. They looked like clouds of heavy smoke and tasted like a too sharp inhale of icy winter air. Maybe that was why the boy from earlier appealed to him so much. Ciel Phantomhive smelled like sin and wickedness. If Sebastian ever had the pleasure of tasting such a soul, he would savor it, pull it from the boy little by little, let himself drown in all the darkness.

The cab lurched forward, and the man in the back hissed out a curse. Sebastian hadn’t seen the light change until the last second, but he had caught it in time.

“Fuck, pay attention to the fucking road, alright?” The man was skinny, and tall, resembling a stick that the wind might pick up and throw. He couldn’t had been older than thirty-five. His hair was wispy and red, and his soul was the color of the smoke drifting up from a candle after you’d just blown it out.

“My apologies,” Sebastian said. He kept his fingers loose on the wheel, drove sloppy on purpose. When the car lurched forward again, the red haired man slammed his palm on the divider between them.

“Are you a fucking idiot?”

Sebastian liked it when they were angry; he liked how quickly human emotions changed. They cursed and yelled at him until he bared his fangs, showed them the glowing red eyes. Then the anger faded to fear, to desperation.

The cab stopped in front of an apartment building, hidden away from the streetlights. Sebastian kept the doors locked, then he turned on the music. The notes of a violin filled the car, drowning out the red-haired man’s protest. Sebastian watched him through the rearview mirror, capturing the man’s wide, frantic eyes. Sebastian’s own glowed a deep red, like wine, or spilled blood. The man couldn’t look away, wouldn’t. Then his jaw gives and he breathed out his soul. Sebastian was right. It was the color of smoke from a dying candle. It barely left a taste in the demon’s mouth. Most souls were this way, plain and unworthy of much attention. Sebastian grimaced in disappointment.

The man was empty now, but still alive for at least a few more minutes. A human’s soul only made up a portion of what kept them alive. A large portion, yes, but it meant Sebastian didn’t have to worry about disposing of the bodies. His latest victim opened the now unlocked door and stepped out. His expression vacant as he made his way into his building. The police won’t be able to figure it out. He’ll be just another person that dropped dead for seemingly no reason.

Sebastian smirked, then drove on. He had other victims, and a long night ahead of him. As he drove, an ad for some clothing company slid onto a billboard. Ciel Phantomhive smirked down at him, and Sebastian suddenly felt hungry again.


	2. How Shall We Begin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's non-con between Ciel and Vincent in this chapter as well as mentions of suicide. You have been warned.

Nina must have had hundreds of costume ideas in that head of hers, yet this was what she decided to curse him with. Ciel lowered his head and shoved through the crowds of people. It was annoying enough to get the stupid outfit on correctly, now he had to deal with people bumping into him and messing it up. He growled at a lady dressed up as some kind of cat; she had messed with the position of the left horn attached to his head. He righted it, then continued violently shoving people out of his way. Didn’t they know who he was? Even with this ridiculous disguise on, surely they would recognize the face that graced all their screens.  _ Idiots _ . 

The tail that came with the outfit trailed behind, tripping people as Ciel made his way deeper into the maze. The charity ball thrown by the Trancy family couldn’t have been a  _ normal _ ball where guests were only expected to dance and engage in mindless chatter.  _ No, those fuckers had to make it themed, and they had to include an actual maze _ , Ciel thought bitterly. The maze wasn’t too hard to figure out. Ciel could probably solve it in his sleep, but the people stopping to gossip with their celebrity friends made it so that he had to find ways around them as well. 

_ What an utter shit show _ . To make matters worse, his parents were at the very center of the maze, waiting for the first person to solve it so they can hand over the prize: a giant painting the Trancy brat did. Ciel sneered at the thought of having to look at that surely hideous thing with his own eyes. 

He hadn’t come across the Trancy heir yet. Their worlds had never crossed. Ciel was a model, the best in his field, and Alois Trancy was an  _ artist _ , a painter.  _ In this day and age, honestly _ . 

A waiter passed by and Ciel stole a glass of his tray. It was probably his sixth glass, and the edges of his vision were starting to blur. He downed the glass anyway, and searched for a seventh. Alcohol made these things bearable, but there were never enough little silver trays floating around. He should have drank before coming here. 

Ciel stumbled into a clearing, and heard clapping from somewhere in front of him. He looked up, already feeling dizzy. The grass hedges swayed and the blurry couple standing before him looked faceless and frightening. One of them raised their hand, reached for him. He stumbled back and blinked his vision clear. 

“Son?” Ah, it was only his mother. He must have made it to the center. She snapped at her husband in a harsh tone before turning back to press a hand against Ciel’s forehead. Vincent stood idled behind Rachel, his eyebrows raised. “Are you alright?” Rachel asked, still touching Ciel’s face. Her hands were cold, and he leaned into the touch. 

“He’s drunk,” Vincent noted. “Go find him some water.” Behind him, Ciel could see Alois’ painting resting on its easel. It looked abstract, or maybe that was just Ciel’s messed up vision. 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Rachel said, glaring at her husband. “You go get the water. Ciel? Honey? How much did you drink?” He frowned, processing her question slowly. His mind wasn’t catching up; it was irritating. 

“I have to wait here incase Elena Trancy comes. I’m the one she’s doing business with,” Vincent reminded Rachel. She scowled, patted Ciel’s cheek gently again, then took off. Ciel blinked at her retreating figure, his lips setting into a frown. Once Rachel left the clearing, it was only Vincent and Ciel, surrounded by tall hedges and voices that seemed like they were coming from nowhere. Ciel squeezed his eyes shut, wondered if any of the idiots he saw from earlier were going to stumble into this clearing soon. He wished they did. 

Vincent wasted no time in grabbing a handful of Ciel’s hair and dragging him forward until Ciel stood at the tip of his toes, nose to nose with his father. The boy hissed in pain, his nails dug into his father’s wrist in an attempt to stop him. When Vincent let go, Ciel rubbed at his head and righted his horns. 

“You’re an embarrassment.” He winced at the harsh words. “I don’t want to see you drinking at engagements like these anymore.” Vincent looped an arm around Ciel’s waist and examined his son, his face a tight scowl.  _ What if someone sees? How would we explain?  _ “I like it better when you’re sober, Ciel.” His name sounded like sin on Vincent’s lips, and the man’s breath is hot on Ciel’s skin. Vincent lowered his head until his nose brushed Ciel’s hair and his lips touched the boy’s ear. “Why do you insist on being drunk? Daddy can’t make you feel as good when you’re like this.” 

Ciel whimpered, cheeks flushing despite himself. He shivered and bit down on his lip. Then Vincent let him go. The moment was short, but Ciel felt like time had stopped just to punish him a little further. 

Rachel stepped into the clearing as they separated, a glass of iced water in her hand. A couple in matching costumes followed after her. Vincent tore himself away to congratulate the couple and present them with them with the painting. 

“Here, take these.” Rachel handed Ciel two white pills and the glass of water. He took them from her, but kept his gaze on his father’s back. His parents were dressed as Victorian Era aristocratic zombies, and Vincent tipped his hat at the young couple. The girl blushed, and her boyfriend looked star-struck.

“Thank you, Mother. I think I’m going get a ride home.” Ciel swallowed the pills, grimacing at the bitter taste now in his mouth. 

“Tanaka has the night off. Just use our limo.” She patted his head like she used to do when he was little, and Ciel offered her a small smile. He loved his mother, loved her gentleness. Sometimes, he wondered if he could create a universe just for the two of them, where they can leave his father and all this world’s problems behind. 

“It’s alright. I’ll just call for a car.” He kissed her cheek and turned to leave the clearing. More people were finding their way in now, asking about prizes for second and third place. They pushed past him, and he couldn’t help but think that the scene looked a bit like a horror movie. 

Once he got out of the maze, he made his way to the line of cars waiting at the gates of the Trancy Estate. Ciel squinted at their blinding headlights, then dug in his pocket for his cell. He texted Baldroy, then sat on a nearby bench and waited. 

A few minutes later, Baldroy answered with, “I was just at the bar, sir. Apologies.” Ciel rolled his eyes and sighed.  _ It can’t be helped.  _ He pulled out the crumpled card in his jacket pocket and entered the number into his phone. 

 

Sebastian blinked slowly at his reflection, watching as his vibrant eyes dulled in the rear view mirror. The soul he had just consumed left an ashy taste in his mouth, and he licked his lips in memory of the meal. As most souls were, it was not anything special, but it should keep his hunger sated for a few more hours. 

The streets in this part of town were usually empty, and Sebastian shied from these areas where not many meals, uh,  _ humans _ , needed a taxi. But tonight was special, because the most delectable looking soul Sebastian had set eyes on in centuries had decided to call. 

In history, humans called on creatures like him all the time, trading their souls in order to fulfill their desperate desires. Ceremonies were held in his name. Humans grovelled at his feet. He never had to work very hard for a meal. Sure, there were the unusually long and tedious contracts, but what are years to an immortal being such as Sebastian? Time was nothing to him for he was sure to outlast it. 

The taxi pulled up to the curb, idled behind lines of shiny luxury cars and limos. There seemed to be some kind of party. Guests in costumes and masks chattered behind the gates, and Sebastian can smell all sorts of tainted souls within. None of them mattered, though, because the cab driver had already caught onto a scent far more exquisite than any other. How did he describe it that first day? Ah, yes.  _ Sin and wickedness _ . Hell in the form of young man. Well, not hell yet. Not quite. There was still innocence lurking under all the darkness, and Sebastian yearned to snuff it out.  _ Oh, the potential _ .   

“Good evening, Mr. Phantomhive.” The boy hovered by the passenger door. He glanced back at the party, then narrowed his eyes and slid into the back seat. Sebastian frowned at the scent filling his car. Ciel smelled of alcohol. “Fun night, I assume?” Sebastian swallowed as much annoyance as he could and plastered on a pleasant smile. Alcohol always discolored the taste, left a bitter feeling on his tongue. 

“Your idea of fun must be different from mine.” Ciel wasn’t looking at him. Those brilliant blue eyes were staring out the window, and Sebastian found himself wondering what thoughts ran through the boy’s head. “There’s a bridge nearby. I’ll give you directions.”  

 

The bridge didn’t even have a name, but it sat over a roaring river that carried water over merciless rocks. The site was out far from the city and the heart of town, so the road was normally empty. People didn’t like traveling too close to the edge of the dense woods. It was a road no longer used, but no one bothered to shut it down. The bridge stood unattended to, rusty, and abandoned except for the few hopeless wanderers. 

The moon casted light onto the road, and Ciel felt his resolve shake as the taxi slowed to a stop in front of the bridge. He placed his hand on the door handle, but didn’t do much else. The driver was staring at him, those piercing eyes cutting past Ciel’s blank expression. 

“Thank you for the ride,” Ciel murmured. He dug out a few bills, not caring how much money he shoved into the driver’s hand. The door didn’t budge when Ciel pushed on it, so he stared warily at the lock. 

“What a silly solution.” Ciel looked up in surprised, and he met ruby eyes watching him the rearview mirror. They seemed to glow, or maybe his drunken mind was still playing tricks on him. 

“I’m sorry?” Ciel asked. 

“Revenge would be much more poetic.” The cab driver, what was his name again? He was staring at Ciel with an intense gaze, making the boy shift in his seat. His hand left the door handle and he leaned forward. 

“I don’t understand what you’re t-”

“Killing yourself, jumping off a bridge, benefits no one. How completely selfish and  _ wasteful _ .” The driver’s eyes flickered away, and Ciel frowned as he tucked his hands in his lap. 

The passenger door opened, and a hand dragged him out. Ciel gasped when his feet hit the ground. How had the driver moved so quickly? The hand gripping his upper arm is strong, unshakable. Panic surged through the boy as they neared the rails of the bridge. Another hand gripped his hair, and images flashed in Ciel’s mind of Vincent. For a second, he thought his father was there, bending him over to have his way. But there was nothing sexual about the way Ciel was being handled.

“Ugh, w-what are you doing?!” His voice echoed, but no one would hear it. Maybe this would be how he died, thrown over a bridge by a cab driver. The cold railing stung Ciel’s hands, chilled him to the bones even though the weather wasn’t nearly icy enough. 

“You want to die, yes? Humans are such wasteful creatures. I never understood why so many of you choose to off yourselves. Suicide isn’t  _ poetic _ . It’s a desperate answer to absolutely  _ nothing _ . What exactly are you proving? That you’re weak?” The railing was too cold, and it wrapped around his entire body. Ciel trembled, eyes squeezed shut. 

When he opened them, the darkness was thicker than anything he had ever seen. The realization hit him, hard and unforgiving, that he was bent over the railing, his head tilted toward the jagged rocks below. The cold wrapped around him was the man holding him in place, and he was also the source of all the darkness. Where was the moon? Why wasn’t there anything but shadows and fear? 

“L-let me  _ go _ .” Ciel gritted his teeth, tried to sound as brave as he could. The man towered over him, and something in Ciel shivered at the sight. 

“Do you want to die?” The driver bent down, icy breath on Ciel’s ear. The boy was savagely turned around until the railing dug into his back and all he could see were the monster’s glowing red eyes. “Let me offer you a less selfish way to go.” 

His breath was being sucked out of him. That was Ciel’s initial reaction. He couldn’t move, was held in place by the strange eyes and pointed fangs. Shadows covered the creature’s face, which Ciel knew saved him from a painful death. Even the thought of seeing this  _ thing _ in its true form sent terror racing down his body. Everything inside him felt like it was collapsing, like all his lights were being crushed. 

Mother used to say people had universes inside of them. Well if that were true, all his stars were dying. Super novas tearing him apart. Ciel’s body went slack, and darkness began seeping into his vision. He felt something wet trickle down his cheeks and the claws holding him in place loosened. But he was already slipping. How hard would he have to fight to climb out of this monster’s influence?

“Don’t.” The word took all of Ciel’s energy, but he had everything to gain, so he dug through all the darkness inside him and pulled out the light. 

 

_ Don’t.  _

Sebastian had heard millions of pleads, apologies, bribes. They tumbled out of his meal’s mouth as if they would make a difference. Never once did Sebastian stop himself from devouring just because the human found a remaining bit of strength. 

He stopped here, though, telling himself to have patience. 

Ciel Phantomhive gasped and coughed when his soul came back to him, when life filled him up again. Sebastian stepped back, reeling in all his monstrosities and assuming the form of a non-threatening cab driver once again. His hunger snapped at him, scolding him for not taking what was sure to be the most delicious soul he had ever tasted. The very small sample he had was beyond expectation. This human was definitely something else. 

It left Sebastian curious. 

“What the  _ fuck _ are you?” Ciel clutched at his chest, eyes narrowed in anger and lips curled in a snarl. Sebastian didn’t answer. He tilted his head to the side and watched. “Answer me!” 

_ Strange _ .  _ He’s demanding something from me _ . The boy straightened his posture and took a hesitant step forward.  _ Why isn’t he running? _

“If I kill the person who hurt me, if I seek revenge, my mother would never look at me the same way again. The only person I have would hate me, so what would be the point?” So he had thought about it. Sebastian held his ground as the boy inched closer. His scent was strong, and it stirred Sebastian’s hunger. 

“And then there’s the chance I mess up. He’s stronger than me, smarter.” The boy’s eyes turned wicked, and Sebastian saw more of the black soul he craved. 

“You’re a demon, aren’t you? A monster of some kind.” Ciel stopped in front of Sebastian, his expression desperate, but not in a way that was revolting. This type of desperation came hand in hand with  _ sin _ . “You want to eat me.” 

Sebastian almost laughed. How amusing. When put like that, it sounded so tame. 

“I want your soul.”

“Why?” It took Sebastian a moment to realize that Ciel already knew the answer. He bent down so that he was face to face with the boy, One finger tilted up Ciel’s chin so that Sebastian could stare into those sapphire eyes. 

“Because you are nothing like I’ve ever encountered, little one. A human with a soul so black shouldn’t be wasting his life.” Sebastian grinned devilishly, baring all his fangs. The boy in front of him didn’t look at all fazed. 

“Help me, and it’s yours.” Ciel’s eyes harden and a determined look took over his features. “I want my revenge. I want my father to suffer. Once he’s absolutely ruined, I’ll give you my soul. Do we have a deal?” It was the type of deal made in the olden days, when people still called on demons for help. Sebastian felt giddy at the new contract burning alive. It had been far too long. 

He fell to one knee, and bowed with a grin still on his lips. “How shall we begin, little master?” 

 

Ciel returned home feeling sluggish. The events on the bridge had drained all his energy. He trudged through the house until he reached the kitchen. The light was still on, and Ciel wondered if his mother was making tea like she used to when she couldn’t sleep. He entered, hoping she wouldn’t notice how wrecked he looked. 

It wasn’t his mother standing at the counter, but his father. Ciel turned to go, but Vincent had already caught sight of him. The man put down the thick ledger he was reading and beckoned to Ciel. The boy glanced at the front doors, then put on a fake smile and headed over. 

Sebastian would help him if things escalated. Right?

“Where have you been?” Vincent asked, pulling Ciel close. The hand on Ciel’s wrist didn’t relax even though they were standing so close. 

“I went for a walk.” Ciel shrugged and put on an expression he hoped looked casual. “I thought you went to bed.”

“I waited for you.” Without another word, Vincent pushed Ciel onto the counter, bending the boy over and shoving cold hands up his shirt. Ciel hissed and made fists of his hands. Vincent was making quick work of Ciel’s costume, striping down the pants and pushing his bulge against Ciel’s ass. 

“Mmn, Mo-Mother’s upstairs.” Ciel twisted around to protest, but Vincent pushed him back in place. A finger spread his cheeks apart, then he heard the sound of a bottle being uncapped. 

“Rachel is asleep.” Ciel held in his whimpers when a sticky, wet finger slid into him. Vincent bent down, covering his son’s back with his body as he fingered Ciel into submission. “I like it when you moan, baby. She’s deep asleep. You know how she gets.” Vincent’s intruding finger curled and tilted, and Ciel couldn’t hold in his moan. He let the sound fill the kitchen. His father chuckled and added a second finger. 

“Da-Daddy, I don’t want to tonight.” Not that begging helped. Begging only spurred him on more, but Ciel tried it anyway. Sebastian wasn’t going to rescue him from this. Saving him wasn’t part of the contract, and Ciel only wanted Vincent destroyed, not killed. 

“You say that every time, but you’re always hard when I touch you.” Vincent paused to bite down on Ciel’s neck, pushing aside his shirt collar, then pulling the material off altogether. Ciel shivered, naked against the kitchen counter with his father’s finger fucking him open. 

“You should come home more,” Vincent breathed out. He pulled down his pajamas and coated his cock in the same sticky substance before rubbing the head against Ciel’s hole. 

“Ugh, fuck.” Ciel braced himself and waited for Vincent to enter him. He gripped the edge of the counter and stuck his ass out.  _ Get it over with _ . He should’ve made Sebastian drive him all the way back to the city. Two hours with the demon would have been better than this. 

Vincent thrusted into Ciel, enticing a grunt of pain from the boy. The man wrapped an arm around his son’s waist to hold him in place. 

“This is what you want, right? Me filling your greedy hole.” Vincent trailed kisses down Ciel’s back as the boy whimpered and squirmed. 

He was rocking back, meeting his father’s thrusts and seeking pleasure to dull out the pain. Vincent bit down on Ciel’s shoulder, careful enough not the leave any marks. Ciel cried out and begged for Vincent to fuck him harder. Tears were blurring his vision. 

Vincent’s thrusts became erratic, and he growled, gripping Ciel’s hair and forcing the boy up. 

“My perfect little slut. How many men would pay to see you like this, flushed and pleading?” Vincent slammed hard into his son, and Ciel winced at the twitching of his father’s cock inside him. 

Once he finished, Vincent let himself slip out of Ciel. He gave the boy a playful smack on the ass, then pulled up his pants, grabbed his ledgers, and strolled out of the kitchen. 

“Clean up, then come shower with me.” 

Ciel nodded. He waited until Vincent was completely out of the room and up the stairs before dropping to his knees. He stayed like that for a while, taking deep breaths. Then he got to his feet and gathered his clothes. 

This is the last time, Ciel promised himself. Tomorrow, he’ll start plotting Vincent’s downfall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the fic so far! I'm going to start updating a little quicker because I really want to start writing fluff between Ciel and Sebby... We'll also be meeting my baby Alois next chapter. Remember to leave comments and kudos!


	3. Are All Demons Like You?

His waffles were somehow both soggy and burnt, but he didn’t bother complaining to his father. The man was cooking when Ciel came downstairs that morning, dressed and ready to leave. Vincent convinced him to stay at least for breakfast, but then ducked out for a phone call. He still wasn’t back. Silver fork scraped against the plate, spreading sticky syrup around as Ciel frowned at his food. Vincent rarely cooked, and when he did, there was something wrong.

Sharp heels clicked on the marble floors and a few seconds later, the chair next to him was pulled out. His mother’s perfume was lilac today, and she wore her hair up, loose waves tumbling from where the band couldn’t hold them.

When Ciel was little, he used to drape the strands over his head while she cradled him in her arms. He had Rachel’s wide blue eyes, but his dark hair made him resemble Vincent too closely. Without second thought, Ciel reached over and tucked a strand of his mother’s hair behind her ear. She relaxed under his touch and cupped his face with gentle, warm hands.

“Did your father make those?” She gestured to the waffles Ciel had been pushing around on his plate. He frowned at them, and while his lips only twitched downward for a millisecond, Rachel had caught the act. She pushed the plate away. “I’ll get you something else.” She was already getting up, her patients’ charts abandoned on the marble counter.

“It’s fine, Mother.” Ciel followed her to the cabinet, where she pulled out a box of pancake mix. “Mother,” he called. She ignored him, tearing into the package too hard. Flour covered the floor and stuck to her navy blue suit.

“Oh.” She dropped the box unceremoniously and rubbed at her clothes with damp palms. Her head dipped, her shoulders hunched, and it took a long time for Ciel to realize that she was crying.

“Mother,” he said, voice as soft and comforting as he could manage. She didn’t respond. Flour was everywhere, and it covered his shoes. Ciel ripped off some paper towels and soaked them with water. “Let me,” he said, kneeling on the ground with her.

She made no sound, but her body was trembling. Most of the flour came off, but Ciel wasn’t really worried too much about the state of his mother’s clothes. He dropped the dirty paper towel on the floor and pulled her toward him. She was rigid, a ball of pain and sadness. His heart broke for her.

“Mommy,” Ciel called again, burying his face in her hair. A hand found his, and Rachel intertwined their fingers. Her grip was tight and steady, the hands of an acclaimed heart surgeon.

“I think your father and I are getting a divorce,” she whispered, words broken by sobs. “He’s cheating on me, I know it. Last night, he came into our room with this _grin_ on his face, and he never wants to touch me anymore.” She moved to sit up, but kept her hand in Ciel’s. “Is it my fault? I’m at the hospital too much. I’m not a good wife, or a good mother, is that it?” What did she expect him to say? What sort of person would he be if he told his crying mother that she wasn’t good enough?

Ciel let his fingers comb through her hair. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. The wish that always tugged at the back of his mind swallowed him whole, and he wished it was a genie he had encountered, not a demon. He wanted the power to sweep her away.

“I’ve never thought of you as anything less than the perfect mother,” he said, although it was a lie. Sometimes, when Vincent was particularly cruel, Ciel hated his mother for her ignorance, for how she never paid enough attention to their relationship. The feelings never lasted long. Once sense came back, Ciel felt immensely guilty for blaming her at all. It wasn’t her fault that she had married a monster. “I’m sorry.” He played with her soft hair, the ends coated in a dusting of white flour.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rachel pulled away, and he thought she was going to get up and things were going to go back to how they usually were, Rachel not talking about her feelings and Ciel shutting his away. But she didn’t stand. She kissed his cheek instead and held his face in her hands. It was a comforting gesture, and he felt like a kid waking up from a nightmare.

“Listen to me Ciel, none of this is your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. You hardly ever do.” But she was wrong, because it was all his fault, and he hated himself in a way that he could never hate her. The nightmare ran deep, and traces of its existence covered the floor around them in the form of clumping flour and tear stained tiles.

It was his fault. His fault. And he was going to end it.

 

Ciel rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes. His mother had left for work, and a maid had cleaned up their mess in the kitchen. Vincent was still nowhere to be found, and Ciel wondered it he had heard their conversation earlier. The boy doubted it. Vincent’s footsteps were loud; Ciel would have known.

The address blinking up at him from the car’s dashboard made Ciel groan in annoyance. In an attempt to appease his business partner, Elena Trancy, Vincent had promise to buy one of her son’s paintings and hang it in the manor. Since the CEO of Funtom couldn’t be bothered with the simple task of picking out a painting to buy, he sent his son.

The gallery where Alois Trancy displayed his art was in town, surrounded by a flourishing garden of small purple flowers. Ciel sneezed as he passed by, brows furrowing. The gallery itself was a tall building with gray walls and elaborately twirled lights wrapped around columns. It was mostly empty except for a few women in sundresses whispering in front of a paint splattered canvas.

Nothing appealed to him. All the paintings were too bold, the colors clashing. None of them would fit in the Phantomhive manor with its dark colors.

He rounded a corner to an empty section. These paintings were just as colorful, but one stood out in particular. The man was shrouded in grays, his face hidden under shadows and his back to the viewer. He was dressed in a suit and white gloves, a silver tray balanced in his hands. There was something sinister about the painting, something devious. Ciel lingered in front of it, thinking his mother would probably kill him if he tried to hang that in her living room.

“Ah, the Black Butler.” A boy was next to Ciel, rocking back and forth on his heels. He tucked his hands in ripped up blue jeans and smiled at Ciel over a pair of square black eyeglasses. “He’s handsome, right?”

“He doesn’t have a face,” Ciel retorted. Most of him was covered in darkness anyway. There wasn’t enough to judge, but the man invoked a twinge of recognition. Ciel blinked it away.

“He doesn’t need one.” The boy intercepted Ciel’s view and flashed a brilliant, wide smile. “Demons have more than one face.” Ciel stumbled, and backed away. _Demons_. He started to think about Sebastian, the creature that cornered him last night. The one he made a deal with. “Is he the one you want?”

“What?” Ciel looked past the stranger to the study the paint one more time. Its subject certainly reminds him of that devil.

“Ciel, I know you’re not deaf.” The boy’s grin faltered when Ciel glared at him. It wasn’t unusual for people to know his name and recognize his face, but this boy was bold enough to address him so casually. The blond turned and studied the painting as well. His face contorted until he looked like he was in deep thought. “I didn’t know how to paint his face. He’s in my nightmares, but I never remember him well enough when I wake up. There’s always a blur,” he waved his hand over his face, “right here.”

“You painted this?” Ciel asked, stepping forward. The boy in front of him certainly didn’t dress like a Trancy heir. Elena Trancy was always in classy suits or dresses, but this boy looked like nothing more than an artist with his paint covered hands and the paint brush, white tip coated in dry blue paint, balancing on his ear.

“Alois Trancy.” The boy bowed and the brush fell from its perch. He bent down to pick it up, giving Ciel plenty of time to look him over without him noticing.

His blond hair was a mess, but its condition did not make him look disheveled. Alois merely looked like he rolled out of bed and fell into whatever clothes were on the floor of his bedroom. His shirt was a deep purple, like the flowers outside, and he had rolled up the sleeves in a way that made them look pleasantly careless. The corners of Ciel’s lips twitched at the sight of him.

“I didn’t realize. Apologies.” Alois only smiled back in response. He didn’t look fazed to learn that he wasn’t recognized.

“It’s fine.” He shoved his dirty hands into his pockets, but not because he was ashamed of them. Alois Trancy didn’t look like he was the type of boy to be ashamed of much. “Do you want it? I’ll even give you a discount.” He gestured to the painting. “It’s been here a while, and looking at it creeps me out.”

Vincent never told him _which_ painting to buy. The boy smirked at the thought of bringing home such a creepy painting and seeing his father’s reaction. He told himself getting a rise out of Vincent was the only reason why he wanted the piece.

“I’ll take it.”   

 

The painting took up the entire backseat, but Ciel and Alois managed to fit it into the car without scratching neither. Alois gently closed the door, then stood with his hands on his hips. The check Ciel had given him peaked out from the pocket of his jeans.

Ciel had parked the car away from the garden, but even so, its coat of black paint was covered in purple petals. They fluttered in the wind and swirled in the air. Ciel followed the movement with his eyes, lost in his thoughts.

“They’re crocus,” Alois noted. He reached up to grab a petal and held it out to Ciel. The boy sneezed violently.

“I hate them.” Despite Ciel’s icy expression, the blond laughed in response. He flashed another smile, all teeth and seductive eyes, then Alois turned and headed back into his gallery.

Now left alone, Ciel brushed a few petals off his windshield before getting into his car. He sneezed again, and groaned, dropping his head onto the steering wheel.

“Would you like me to drive in-”

“What the fuck?!”

Sebastian’s eyes are wide, as if he hadn’t expected the boy to be surprised. Then the expression melted away and morphed into a sly smile, much to Ciel’s dissatisfaction. The demon was dressed in casual clothes today, black pants and a white shirt. The sleeves bulged around his biceps, and Ciel had to swallow and force his eyes away.

“How did you get in here?” he asked. His voice was all wrong, strained, and he reasoned that it was because Sebastian had scared the fuck out of him.

“I unlocked the car with your keys. You looked like you were busy.” Ciel’s hand fell to his pockets, but they were empty of his keys. Next to him, Sebastian’s hand dangled the keys out for him to take.

“Don’t do that again.”

“Yes, young master.” Ciel glared at Sebastian in the rearview mirror.

“Don’t do that either. People will think it’s weird. My name is Ciel, use it.” The demon smiled innocently, but Ciel could see hidden intentions in those ruby eyes. Sebastian leaned forward so that his hair brushed Ciel’s face. They weren’t touching, but if Ciel leaned forward a bit, his lips would… He abandoned the horrid train of thought before it could reach its destination.

“Would you like me to drive, Ciel?” Sebastian asked. The demon’s voice was low and breathy, the perfect combination sending chills up Ciel’s neck. The syllables of the boy’s name sounded like melted butter on Sebastian’s vile tongue. The boy grumbled a curse under his breath, not caring that Sebastian probably heard, and got out of the car.

When he settled into the passenger’s side, Sebastian was already seatbelted into the driver’s seat. The demon smiled at Ciel again, sickly sweet like a bottle of honey being forced down your throat.

“How did you find me?” Ciel asked, although the question he meant was “why are you here?”

“I come when you call, little master.” Sebastian probably wasn’t aware of the lewd connotations behind his words, but Ciel’s cheeks heated up anyways. He turned his face to the window, hoping Sebastian hadn’t seen. Something tells him that demon wouldn’t let him live it down.

“I thought we agreed you were going to use my name,” Ciel argued. _When did I call for him?_ He had thought about Sebastian at the gallery, but was that how it worked? If mere thoughts summoned the demon to his side, Ciel was going to have to be much more careful.

“There isn’t anyone around but you and me,” Sebastian pointed out. Ciel didn’t bother retorting. He stared out the window instead, squinting at the sunlight.

“I thought you had a job,” Ciel stated after a few minutes of silence.

“I’m driving you, aren’t I?” The boy turned his head to give Sebastian a dirty look.

 

“We could make everyone think that he’s going crazy, say it was brought on by stress. He’ll be moved to a home.”

They were seated in the back corner of a restaurant. Ciel had insisted, even though it was afternoon and past the time for lunch. The few customers the restaurant had couldn’t care less for the two seated in the back.

“The company would fall on me, and Mother would make a fuss, but otherwise, it’s the only thing I could think of.” Sebastian cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed, and the boy in front of him sneered. “I only had a day, alright?”

“We could just kill him,” Sebastian suggested. He smiled when his new master’s frown deepened.

“I’m not letting you eat my father, you ass.” Each word was hissed out venomously, and Ciel was leaning forward now, his elbows on the table between them. Sebastian tipped backwards casually, hands hidden under the table.

“So defensive of someone you hate,” Sebastian teased. A flicker of anger crossed his young master’s face, but it was fleeting enough that Sebastian only made a mental note.

“He's still my father.”

Humans were sentimental. Sebastian had learned that lesson many times over his numerous years. These fragile creatures sympathized with their monsters.

The human boy’s blue eyes snapped towards the front of the restaurant, fear dancing across his features. Before Sebastian quite understood, Ciel had ducked under the table and was now too close to touching Sebastian’s legs. The demon hissed and scooted as far away as he could. The thought of touching the boy again made Sebastian feel like he was on fire.

“It’s my father. Act normal.” Ciel’s words weren’t audible for human ears. Sebastian held back his retort and concentrated on his menu. None of the items listed seemed appealing to him, but maybe the boy at his feet liked these sort of things. There were an awful lot of sweets being offered.

Sebastian set down the menu, trying not to think of how close Ciel was. There was only one other customer in the restaurant, and Sebastian assumed that was the boy’s father. It was pretty evident. They both shared the same dark hair and smug composure. This man’s soul was nearly as black as Ciel’s, but for some reason, it lacked the boy’s appeal. Sebastian narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He had never encountered a tainted soul he didn’t want.

“There is something wrong with your father,” Sebastian said when Ciel settled back into his seat. They had waited a full three minutes after the older Phantomhive was gone before relaxing.

“Obviously,” Ciel countered. He raised up his hand for a waiter.

“There’s something wrong with his soul, I mean.” Ciel didn’t looked bothered, eyes narrowed in concentration on the list of foods. “Perhaps it would be best if we found out more-” The boy held up a finger to silence Sebastian as a waiter approached, then he rattled off deserts to the poor girl trying to jolt it all down. Sebastian grimaced. “Are models supposed to be this reckless with what they’re eating?” Sebastian wondered.

“I’m sampling.”

Sebastian doubted that was what the boy was doing, and when the plates of desserts were brought out, Sebastian looked at them with a sneer. There were at least four different slices of cakes and what seemed to be an entire mountain of assorted cookies. Ice cream melted on top of brownies and pies while Ciel stared at the display with glee.

“Young master-”

“ _Sampling_.” Each word was stretched out for dramatic effect, and Sebastian didn’t know what else to do beside sitting back and frowning.

The last master he had was much more unbearable, the sort of human even demons shied from, and while Ciel was nothing like that filth, Sebastian could already tell this boy was going to be a handful.

 

After Ciel’s “lunch” (Sebastian still couldn’t understand how such a small human could eat so much sweets), the two returned to Phantomhive Manor with the painting. Ciel had wanted Sebastian to stay in the car, which was parked down the street out of the manor’s view, or hide behind a bush, but the demon refused.

The same acidic smell lingered in the manor, and it stalled Sebastian as he stood on the porch. The scent was familiar in the way pain was familiar. The demon hesitated, not sure whether or not he should follow his little master in.

Ciel sensed there was a problem, and paused in the middle of unlocking the door. “Is there a problem?” he asked. “Do you need to be invited in?” The tone was snarky, and for some reason, it gave Sebastian a bit more confidence.

“I’m not a vampire,” he replied, and promptly followed Ciel inside. It was better to be there in case the boy died and Sebastian was robbed of his meal.

The house was empty, but something _had_ been there, something heinous and savage, more so than a demon. Sebastian trailed after Ciel like a tiger protecting its sheep, but he still managed a distance between them.

“Mother should still be at work,” Ciel said. “That is the only reason why I’m allowing you inside, understood?” Sebastian didn’t let it get to him that he was being talked to like he was a dog, and he hoped the smile on his face seemed pleasant despite his annoyance with the boy.

“You’re very fond of your mother, aren’t you, my little lord?” Sebastian asked, leaning down next to the boy’s ear and baring his fangs. The response he got was good enough revenge. Ciel’s cheeks went red, and he furrowed his brows in anger.

“If you even so much as _look_ at my mother, I’ll-” Ciel’s threat halted so suddenly that Sebastian’s expression flickered to worried. “Father’s home.”

Sebastian’s ears perked. Sure enough, the sound of footsteps disrupted the air of silence. The demon took a second to sample the air, and surely, it was Vincent Phantomhive and his broken soul.

Hands gripped the material of Sebastian’s shirt and led him in a frantic pace down the hall. Ciel paused to lean the painting against a set of couches, then shoved Sebastian into a nearby closet. The demon opened his mouth to protest, but Ciel had already closed the door behind them. They stood together in the darkness, trying to control their breathing.

“Are you alright?” Sebastian had never been asked if he was alright, so he simply stared back. A pair of sapphire eyes met him in the darkness, too close and too invading. He tried to take a deep breath, but all he tasted was Ciel.

“I’m fine.” That was what the humans said, right? When they were asked the same question? They rarely ever spoke the truth.

“I’m sorry.” Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him, but then realized Ciel most likely couldn’t see it.

“Sorry?” he asked, then waited for clarification. The boy was blushing again, heat rolling off of him in waves. It made Sebastian’s clothes feel as if they were too tight. Through the darkness, he could see that Ciel was pressing himself against the door, keeping as much distance from Sebastian as possible.

“You, um, you don’t like being touched, right? I noticed you kept pulling away every time I reached out.” An awkward moment of silence existed between them, then Ciel spoke again. “Or I’m just imagining it.”

“I’m surprised you noticed,” Sebastian said, trying to keep his voice even. Demons simply did not have to deal with this sort of thing; it made him embarrassed.

The sound of footsteps carried into the room and Sebastian was pleased for the distraction. The steps belonged to Vincent, and that strange acidic smell followed after him. But it was muted, as if he wasn’t its source, just a temporary vessel.

“Ciel?” A voice called out. The boy in front of Sebastian flinched. “Hang on, I think my son’s home.” Sebastian tried to peek past Ciel’s head and through the cracks in the door.

Vincent looked very much like his son, but his eyes were a murky brown instead of Ciel’s brilliant blue. The man held a cellphone to his ear and scanned the living room. “Ciel?” he called out again, moving closer to their hiding spot. “Where are you, baby? Daddy wants to play.”

Ciel trembled, and moved to cover his mouth with his hand. Their skin brushed for only a brief moment, but Sebastian felt like his arm was on fire. The demon gritted his teeth, and took hold of Ciel’s other hand. He stroke the skin with his thumb while Ciel looked at him in confusion.  

“Darling, where are you?” Vincent cooed. “Strange, his car isn’t in the driveway. I thought I heard him.” Then after a moment, “Ha, I don’t think I’m going crazy yet.” Vincent’s footsteps faded away until Sebastian could sense him two floors above them.

“Let's go.” Sebastian hurried to drop the boy’s hand. The closet door opened, and they stepped out, hands smoothing out their clothes and faces flushed as if they had done some perverted deed in the closet.

Ciel didn’t speak until they were in the car again and he was buckled into the passenger’s seat. He stared down at his own hands, and Sebastian tried not to look as well. His skin still burned.

“Thank you.” Sebastian swallowed and kept his eyes on the road.

“I just thought it would calm you down. Humans like physical contact.” His voice must have sounded too cold, because Ciel flinched.

“Not all humans,” the boy mumbled. Sebastian thought back to the way Ciel had looked, fearful and embarrassed to be seen that way. “Are all demons like you?” Ciel asked, tone colored by genuine curiosity.

It took Sebastian a long time to answer. The truth brought up nightmares that clawed at his skin even though he never slept, and thoughts he had fought to bury were rising like bile up his throat.

“I’m special,” Sebastian said bitterly. They were the same words his previous master had said to him, words he had learned to associate with the burning pain of desperate hunger. Pain that felt like being consumed by the sun. “So, where should I drive you next, little master?”

Ciel glared at him with an annoyed expression, and Sebastian was glad things could proceed as normal. His past was not something he wanted to bring up, and a boy who was simply a meal had no business being treated as anything more.

One glance at Ciel, the setting sun casting gold on his still flushed cheeks and lighting up those mesmerizing eyes, told Sebastian that whatever distance they had between them now wasn’t going to last very long. Ciel was already proving to be more than just a simple meal. This contract was going to be a very interesting one indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Classes were cancelled dued to the storm, which meant I got time to update! I hope your enjoying the fic. Please leave kudos and comments! My tumblr's OrangeJuiceHP (and [here](http://orangejuicehp.tumblr.com/post/156658238105/older-modelciel-based-on-my-fic-all-your-claws) is a sketch of this fic's Ciel)


	4. Yes, My Young Master

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: attempted rape, non-con element  
> (I know it's in the tag but I'm gonna warn you again anyways)

Sebastian didn’t sleep, didn’t dream, sometimes he closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall of his tiny apartment. He didn’t have much furniture, only a bare few pieces meant to falsify some semblance of normality. He didn’t need a bed, so there was only a couch and a small side table; the living room being the most decorative since it was situated in front of the apartment door.

Images reflected on the back of his eyelids, red and angry and more monstrous than he was. His last master had truly been something straight from hell. Sebastian’s hand trailed down his arm, running fingertips along the uneven scars. They were barely a few lines, but they were the reminders of when he laid on the dirty floor, bleeding out while his master watched.

Sebastian shuddered, and rubbed at his eyes. He had spent the entire day driving a little brat around, and babysitting had tired him more than he approved of. Ciel Phantomhive was very demanding, and he no longer seemed afraid of Sebastian. The boy’s soul was definitely dark, bordering beyond saving, but there was definitely something there that piqued Sebastian’s interest in the boy. Certainly more than either of them wants.

He thought about how Ciel felt, pressed against him in that tiny closet. The boy’s warm breath on Sebastian’s skin was oddly comforting, but it didn’t make Sebastian any less flustered. He hadn’t been that close to another human since the entire ordeal with his previous master. It always triggered something in him, touching a human, feeling the soul within rise up to meet him. Ciel’s didn’t. The boy’s soul stayed where it was, nestled under his fear and rapidly beating heart.

Yes, Sebastian remembers the sound of Ciel’s heart well. Loud and frantic and begging, even if the boy would never admit it. He was scared in that moment, terrified of the man beyond the door, and Sebastian couldn’t help but connect with that feeling. He had acted on instinct, giving Ciel something he hadn’t gotten himself when he needed it most, comfort.

Thinking about it now made his fingers burn, and Sebastian can feel Ciel’s soft hands even though the boy is far across the city.

“Maybe I should get some rest,” he thought, slouching against the wall and dropping his head onto his arms. “Perhaps a snack would help.” Help with what, Sebastian didn’t know. He wasn’t particularly hungry. Demons could go days, months, years, without feasting, and god knows Sebastian could go more. He wasn’t very tired, either, but a feeling of _want_ crept up from under his nerves, edged at the recesses of his thoughts. He _wanted_ something, or rather, his body wanted something, and perhaps the boy was the answer. Sebastian got to his feet and reached for his phone to check on his newest little pest.

 

Ciel didn’t really care for these kinds of photoshoots, the kinds where he’s barely dressed and pressed against other sweaty bodies. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but work was work, so he forced away his grimace and struck pose after pose.

His mind was running away with all of the things he had heard his father say the other day. Who had Vincent been talking to? Ciel knew most of his father’s friends, and he was certain the man never mentioned their relationship to anyone else. The boy’s skin crawled with the thought of one of those slimy businessmen fantasizing about him and his father. Humans were disgusting, and what irked him most was that they dared to deny it. At least with monsters, with Sebastian, sins were worn like jewelry on display.

The director of the shoot called an end and complimented the models on their work. She slipped a hand around Ciel’s bare waist as the boy passed by.

“Amazing work as usual, Ciel,” the director said. She grinned, but under the studio lights, her expression looked more manic than she probably intended.

“Thank you,” Ciel replied, keeping his expression neutral. He was way too underdressed and the director’s eyes had a habit of roaming.

“How about you and me go get some dinner?” Her hand crept lower until it was right at the band of his shorts. Ciel let his smile slip onto his face, showing teeth and hostility.

“It’s ‘you and _I_ ,’ and no thank you. I’m busy tonight.” He surveyed the studio for an excuse, someone to help him out, but most of the models were back in their dressing rooms.

“Oh, I’m sure you can make some time for me,” she insisted, inching closer.

Before Ciel could protest, a larger hand roughly removed the director’s. Someone else stepped between, nudging Ciel aside. “Please refrain from laying your hand on my young master.” The words were spoken with eerie calm, and combined with the false smile, Ciel couldn’t help but crack a smile. He hadn’t expected Sebastian would come.

They leave the director speechless, and Sebastian followed Ciel to his dressing room. The demon kept his distance, managing a good three or four feet behind.

“I’m surprise you know how to use a phone,” Ciel quipped from behind his dressing room door.

“Of course I know how to use a phone. It’s only natural that I adapt to modern technology.” Sebastian’s voice was muffled by the door between them.

“I meant since you hardly need me to text you to know I want to see you.” Ciel thought of yesterday, when Sebastian had appeared in his backseat, right next to the painting of the black butler.

“Oh? You wanted to see me?” Something about the way he said it sounded seductive. Ciel’s cheeks heated up.

“W-We have to discuss the whole revenge and all. That’s why.” _Get it together, Phantomhive._ Ciel frowned at his reflection in the dressing room mirror.

“I… Yes…”

“Sebastian?” Ciel turned, brows furrowed in worried. He couldn’t hear anything that sounded like trouble, but Sebastian’s voice had been _off_. Ciel eased the door open.

A group of models, still in their clothes from the shoot, were gathered together on the floor, legs tangled and bare skin touching. The blue and red paint that had been smeared on them looked more like a mess now, like blood and skies slathered over their skin. The models were giggling, posing for selfies with each other.

Sebastian stood right outside Ciel’s door, lips parted and red eyes nearly glowing. The demon’s brows were furrowed, his fingers absentmindedly twitching as if they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Something in Ciel surged to life, and he turned to the models with a newfound temper.

“What are you doing? Releasing pictures from the shoot without the director’s permission is going to get you fired. If you’re going to be professionals, act like professionals.” The girls stared at him with wide eyes, then mumbled apologies before getting to their feet and practically running down the hall.

“For fuck’s sake, keep it in your pants,” Ciel grumbled, turning to glare at Sebastian. The demon blinked innocently, like he hadn’t been drooling at the sight of those barely dressed girls. Like he didn’t want them in his bed. Ciel growled, trying to calm his sudden frustration, but he didn’t know where it was coming from, so he took it out on Sebastian instead.

“You should act a bit more professional as well. You’re supposed to be helping _me_ , so instead of staring at them, _pay attention to me_.”

“Keep what in my pants?” Ciel paused, anger turning into confusion. Sebastian seemed to have snapped out of whatever trance those girls put him in, and he was now staring down at Ciel, head tilted. “You said to ‘keep it in your pants.’ What is ‘it’?”

They stared at each other for what seems like minutes before Ciel rolled his eyes and walked back into his dressing room.

Sebastian, now left alone in the hall, kept his eyes on the patterns in the carpet. The way the models looked on the floor, hands and legs tangled and red on their skin, it reminded him too much of his nightmares. Daymares? What do you call nightmares people have when awake?

Bare torsos and legs and arms and necks, dripping in blood, but empty of souls. They laid like a wasteland around him, torturous and revolting.

He takes in a sharp breath, and glared down the halls at the human who had fled from his master’s anger. Rarely did anything cause him to lose his composure in public like that. Sebastian pressed a hand to his face, and focused on the sound of Ciel moving around in his dressing room, the steady beat of the boy’s heart.

Sebastian’s master had been angry, and he hadn’t known why. The boy had quite a temper, and Sebastian smirked at the memory of Ciel’s flustered cheeks as he scolded Sebastian only seconds before.

“You’re annoying; you know that?” Ciel opened his door and stepped into the hall, arms crossed and expression sour. He looked like a spoiled child, but Sebastian wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that. Something told him he has already gotten on his master’s bad side today.

“Would you like some dinner, young master?” Sebastian asked instead. He bended down to adjust the tie around Ciel’s neck. The boy was always dressed in suits, and Sebastian wondered if he should start doing the same. They looked strange together in their different clothing.

“I told you not to call me that,” Ciel complained. He walked ahead, still sulking about whatever ordeal that had gone on without Sebastian’s knowledge.

“We are the only ones here, young master.” Ciel turned to glare at him in response.   

 

“I personally think we’re proceeding at a good pace.” Ciel popped another chocolate covered strawberry off a stick and into his mouth and nodded along with his words. “We should be done by midnight.”

Besides him, Sebastian rolled his eyes. There had been a lot of eye rolling on Sebastian’s part, all throughout dinner and then during the events succeeding it.

“You haven’t even come up with a plan-”

“I don’t need plans. I’m Ciel Phantomhive.” He waved an empty stick at Sebastian’s grumpy face. “Desserts quiver before me.” He tossed the stick into the air, and Sebastian caught it, wondering if there are enough witnesses around should he have the urge to stab the little brat.

“There is no way you are going to try every piece of dessert from all of these carts.” Sebastian didn’t think a human could eat this much and still be as tiny as Ciel is, and yet… The boy dashed away to a cart of macaroons.

After dinner, Sebastian had suggested a walk (how idiotic of him), and instead of enjoying a nice stroll through the park, they ran into a street fair. The theme seemed to be “Desserts From Around the World”, and Ciel had frightened the lady at the flan cart when he stood there unapologetically eating all her samples.

“We have _hours_ , Sebastian.” The boy licked icing off his fingers and closed his eyes to sigh in delight. Sebastian had to force himself to look away.

A shadow crept along the walkway, quiet and unseen by the people manning the carts. The creature swiped a cup of cream away between its fangs. Sebastian’s eyes widened as he stalked the creature into a nearby corner, away from the people.

“Pretty kitty,” he cooed, holding out a hand to pet the cat’s tuft of gray fur.

 

“See, Sebastian? I’m already halfway through.” Ciel spunned around to show the demon his churro sticks, but Sebastian was nowhere in sight. He frowned, searching the crowd for black hair and a tall figure.

“Did your date ditch you?” A man next to him was buying a churro, and standing a bit too close for Ciel’s comfort. The boy took a step away.

“I’m sure he just got lost.”

“I’ll accompany you until you find him,” the man suggested. Ciel’s frown deepened, a sense of wrong spreading through him. His brain was telling him to get away, but if he walked too far, Sebastian wouldn’t be able to see him. “Don’t you recognize me, Ciel?”

The man stepped into the light, and Ciel could make out the features of one of his father’s business partners. The man was always too friendly, too tactile.

“Yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me-” A hand gripped tight on his upper arm, and Ciel winced from the pain.

“Be a good boy, Ciel, or I’ll have to tell your daddy on you.” His eyes widened, and fear raced through his system. He dug his heels into the pavement, but the man still managed to drag him away. None of the people around them seemed to notice.

“Ugh, let go, you fucking creep!” The man was strong, much stronger than Ciel, and nearly two head taller. He roughly pulled on Ciel’s hair, slamming them both against the side of some alley. A hand flew over Ciel’s mouth, dirty and bony and tasting of ash.

“I followed you all the way from the restaurant. Didn’t think your boyfriend was just going to abandon you like that.” The man snickered, glee and lust and a million wrongs in his eyes. “I guess you’re just not fun unless you’re being fucked.”

Ciel kicked, feet finding purchase in the man’s shin, but all that elicited was an angry hiss. His head is slammed back into the brick wall and he felt himself drifting.

“Be a good boy. Your daddy always brags about what a good boy he has at home. Show me.”

Ciel cried against the hand, tears stinging his blue eyes. He tried to bite down, tried to find some skin he could rip off.

The sun was already passed set, and the alley was dark and shrouded from the street fair. The man’s free hand fought with the buttons on Ciel’s pants, but the boy moved too much for much progress to be made. Ciel dug his nails into the man’s arms, reached out to claw his face.

 _Sebastian. Please._ His mind called out when his body couldn’t take the fighting for much longer.

A shadow fell over them, bathing the alley in ink. The air smelt of sulfur, of burning wood and death. Ciel felt himself relax, felt his limbs stop fighting. The fear in his eyes turned to hatred and anger, sinister and lit but the glow of red reflecting back at him.

It was alright now. His devil was here.

Sebastian ripped the man to shreds, pieces of him covering the alley walls. Blood splattered onto crates and pavement, but everything seemed to be sucked up by the blackness surrounding Sebastian.

The man begged and cried and pleaded. Ciel watched the entire ordeal with his back against the wall, his legs crossed under him. It all happened within seconds, but Ciel could pinpoint the exact moment when Sebastian took the man’s soul. The alley had felt even emptier, nothing but Sebastian’s evil filling the air.

 

He still trembled. Sebastian bounced the skull of his recent meal between two hands and smiled at his master. Ciel made himself as small as possible on the alley’s dirty floor. Not that that was hard for the boy. He was already alarmingly small. Weren’t models supposed to be tall? Sebastian tossed the skull into the air, unhinged his jaw, and swallowed the entire thing whole.

Demons didn’t usually eat the meat and bones, but he’d rather devour it all than wait for police to start asking questions.

“I’m all done, young master,” Sebastian announced, grinning down at Ciel. When the boy didn’t respond with his usual complaint, Sebastian knelt down and tentatively reached out. He didn’t touch Ciel, of course, but the gesture made the boy look up. “Come here, Ciel.” He spread out his arms and waited for the boy to fill the space between them.

A small part of Sebastian wanted Ciel to refuse. It warned Sebastian of the nightmare behind his eyelids, the burning on his skin whenever he came in contact with a human.

A larger part of Sebastian smiled when Ciel nestled in his arms, still trembling, still crying.

“I apologize, Ciel. Let's get you home, shall we?”       

 

Ciel refused to be by himself in his city penthouse, and he refused to let go of Sebastian long enough for the demon to fetch him a glass of water. He sat on the kitchen island while Sebastian filled a glass. The demon’s back was definitely something else, Ciel thought, admiring his new servant’s body.

Something in him itched, wanted, needed to fill whatever space left by the disgusting man in the alley. Maybe death left a bad taste in Ciel’s mouth, because all he can feel on his tongue is ash.

“Should I fetch the first aid kit?” Sebastian asked. Ciel took the glass of water from him and gulped it down.

“He didn’t get anywhere.” That didn’t seem to ease the uncertain look in Sebastian’s eyes. “My head hit the wall, though,” Ciel said. Maybe if he gave the demon something to fuss about, he won’t spend time trying to tidy up the apartment.

Sebastian had made a sound of unpleasant surprise when they first walked in.

“Let me have a look.” Sebastian, probably pretending he’s a doctor or something, asked Ciel to follow his finger back and forth. Their faces were too close, and Sebastian smelt so much better than that retched alley. “You don’t seem to have a concussion. We can go to the hospital if you’d like.”

“No hospitals. Can you check if I’m bleeding?”

Sebastian leaned closer and wrapped a hand behind Ciel’s head. His cool fingers ruffled Ciel’s hair, and the boy leaned into the touch.

“You’re not bleeding,” Sebastian said, voice soft and breathy. He doesn’t remove his hand. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“My mouth tastes like ash.” Ciel leaned forward, not really sure what he was expecting.

He certainly didn’t expect for Sebastian to close the gap. Sebastian didn’t taste like ash, or sulfur, or much of anything, really, other than the mint from when he brushed out his teeth when they had settled in. He kissed Ciel gently, almost as if he was afraid. Ciel closed his eyes, tilted his head to the side and then reached up to cup Sebastian’s cheek.

The demon leaped away, eyes glowing and fangs bared. Then he seemed to gather where he was, and composed himself.

“I’m sorry. I… I’m sorry that happened.”

 _What?_ Ciel wondered. _What was he sorry about?_ The kiss, or the way he reacted when Ciel touched him? Either way, the boy felt a little more defeated than he previously felt.

“Because I’m a boy?” Ciel asked, thinking back to the way Sebastian had watched those models.

“No. Because you’re human.” Sebastian’s eyes were closed, and he was trying to control his breathing. Ciel felt himself follow the rise and fall of Sebastian’s chest.

“And touching me burns. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Don’t be sorry.” Sebastian shook his head, then reached over and poured Ciel another glass.

“Maybe it’s something you have to work up to,” Ciel suggested, taking the glass. His fingertips brushed Sebastian’s.

“What is?” the demon asked.

“You carried me home, and we touched before. Maybe it’s psychological.” Sebastian seemed to be considering it for  a moment, then, to both of their surprise, he held out a hand.

“Try it.”

 

Sebastian gritted his teeth, waited for the burning feeling to come. He knew Ciel was no therapist, and his theory was only that, a theory, but kissing the boy had been wonderful, so Sebastian waited.

Ciel’s fingers moved slow, one at a time. His hand soft and delicate and warm. Their palms met, and Sebastian willed himself to be in the present.

No empty bodies. No boiling hunger.

The burn was still there, and a part of him still protested, but he liked holding Ciel’s hand more than he feared his nightmares.

“Okay?” the boy asked, leaning forward with furrowed brows to study Sebastian’s expression. The demon chuckled, then tilted forward as well until they’re centimeters apart.

“Are _you_ okay?”

Ciel shrugged, a moment of pain flickering over his face. Sebastian felt the guilt bone deep. If only he hadn’t been distracted by the cat…

“You’re here, so I guess I’m okay. I could use some sleep.” His voice certainly sounded tired. Sebastian reached out and scooped Ciel up. Carrying the boy didn’t hurt as much, which was strange. Ciel nestled his head against Sebastian’s shoulder, his hair tickling Sebastian’s throat.

“I’ll be in the living room while you rest,” Sebastian said as he put Ciel into bed. For a young adult, he certainly acted like a child sometimes.

“Stay with me until I fall asleep,” Ciel said, eyelids already fluttering shut.

“Yes, my young master.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of your comments are beautiful and they make me so happy! I'm sorry I haven't had the time to reply but I'll be certain to answer any questions you put in the comments! Want the next chapter out quick? Leave comments and kudos!!


	5. Dinner, Then?

Vincent came home smelling of liquor and sex. An almost finished cigarette burned between his lips as the front door slid shut behind him, eased by the heel of his foot. The house was quiet, and he gathered that Rachel must either still be at work or already asleep. He rarely saw much of his wife these days; their marriage better spent apart.

Not that he was complaining. There might have been love between them once, but it was long gone. Now, Rachel just got in the way of Vincent’s relationship with his son.

He quietly made his way up the staircase and peered into Ciel’s room. Disappointment settled in when he realized that his son was not home. Vincent pondered for a moment in the doorway, then slipped into Ciel’s room.

When the boy was younger, Vincent liked to do sweep just to make sure he wasn’t getting into any trouble. Honestly, it was really to be certain that Ciel wasn’t sleeping with anyone. Possessiveness had always been something Vincent had trouble with when it came to his beautiful son; especially now that Ciel had his own place to live and insisted on being financially independent.

There were various pieces of clothing thrown around the room, but all of them belonged to the boy. Vincent picked up a t-shirt and brought it to his nose.

Once, he had caught Ciel masturbating, hand fisted around his cock while he laid spread out on his bed, t-shirt riding up over his chest. It was a magnificent scene; one Vincent jacked off to countless times. Ciel had been too young then, so Vincent had only stood outside watching. He never got around to asking who the boy was thinking about.

The room looked normal enough, and Vincent left it satisfied with not having found anything that would indicate Ciel having any other relationship besides theirs. Not that Vincent suspected his son _wasn’t_ having sex with other men.

Actually, the idea of _watching_ Ciel being fucked by someone else made Vincent’s cock twitch with excitement. But getting fucked and being in a relationship with were two very different things, and Vincent only tolerated the former when it came to his son. Ciel was beautiful, sexy, and practically perfect, and he only deserved the best in terms of boyfriends.

Vincent hummed as he walked to his bedroom, which was situated on the opposite end of the house from Rachel’s. She had complained that his snoring kept her up, and he didn’t mind having his wife sleep so far away. It made it easier to fuck his lovely little son without her knowledge.

He freed his cell phone from his pocket and stared at the thing with annoyance. A business partner who had promised to call him had yet to do so, and the deal they needed to discuss was a particularly important one.

_Whatever_ , Vincent thought. He could just go ahead and make the decision himself. He didn’t rise to the very top by waiting for consult from men less knowledgeable than him.

Vincent’s bedroom greeted him as it usually did, black silk sheets and gray walls draped in soft gold lights. Ciel always complained that the room was too dark, but Vincent liked the intimate feel of it. He set the phone down on top of a dresser and undid his tie. There was a mirror by his closet, and he stood in front of it, studying the way his hair looked under the light. It was starting to gray at the temples, but at least he still had a full head of luscious hair.

Something shuffled around in a corner of the room. Vincent spun, eyes narrowed. But there was nothing, the sound seemingly a part of his imagination. He turned back to the mirror and started unbuttoning his shirt.

The light in the room had gotten dimmer, or was that also just his imagination? He cursed his tired eyes and went back to focusing on his shirt. A particular button was refusing to come loose. He fidgeted with it, then looked back up to his reflection with wide eyes.

Behind him, shrouded in shadows, was a figure. It twitched into and out of reality, making Vincent question its presence. The thing stood waiting and Vincent stared at it, feeling invisible eyes on his through the mirror. It was watching him, daring him to move, but Vincent was too afraid to turn around. He must be seeing things, he tried to tell himself.

It’s a trick of the light.

Then the darkness reached out with its claws and slammed Vincent’s head against the mirror.

He staggered back, hand pressing against the bloody wound on his forehead. The mirror was cracked, and the jagged pieces made the thing behind him look more surreal. It crawled up to him, still twitching like it was trying to find its footing.

Vincent knew what he had felt when its claws had touched him, and he knew that coldness felt a lot like death. He scrambled away from the clawed hand, desperately grasping for whatever was closest.

There was laughing, or was he imagining that as well? Was any of this real? He held up his arms to shield himself, knowing his attempts were pathetically useless against the creature. It grabbed at his ankles, claws digging into his skin. The laughing was everywhere now, pounding against his skull. It grew louder and louder as the creature towered over him, faceless and made of nothing but claws and teeth and shadows. It shivered and convulsed, limbs bending and breaking. Then it unhinged its jaws and swallowed him whole.

Vincent opened his eyes, felt his heart racing away in his chest. His body felt sluggish, but alive. He was standing in front of the unbroken mirror, disoriented. Behind him, instead of the monster, was a man with black hair and glowing eyes. The demon wore a suit, and it was grinning.

 

Ciel awoke in an empty bed, which was the usual, but he had expected Sebastian to be there. _Idiot_ , he scolded himself. It wasn’t like they had slept together. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned, stretching as he got up. Sunlight was filtering through open blinds, and Ciel squinted as he made his way to the bathroom. Had he left the curtains open last night? The city was bustling outside, and from the look of the sky, it must be about noon.

When Ciel finally made his way to the kitchen, he found Sebastian sitting at the island, a newspaper in hand. The boy smirked, already in the mood to tease the demon.

“Why am I not surprised that you still read _newspapers_?” Ciel asked, pulling out a chair beside Sebastian and grabbing a piece of toast off his plate. The demon pushed the entire plate over along with a cup of hot tea.

“Good morning, young master.” Ciel scowled, but it was strangely half-hearted. “You slept awfully long.”

“I did,” he agreed, smiling with glee at the plate of food. Sebastian was an excellent chef for a creature that didn’t eat.

“Then you are well rested and ready to complete your revenge today.” Sebastian was grinning down at him, but Ciel raised an eyebrow and ignored the demon in favor of his breakfast. Brunch. Whatever it was.

“Already tired of me?” he asked.

“I do have a life of my own, you know.” Sebastian reached over and tilted up Ciel’s chin. “How are you feeling?” The demon’s voice was soft, tender, almost caring.

“F-Fine. I’m fine.” Ciel pulled away, hoping his cheeks weren’t flushed. Judging by Sebastian’s expression, they were. _Evil bastard_. “I suppose we can make some progress today,” Ciel announced. He didn’t even have a coherent plan. “My mother has a fundraising event going on later. Father should be there, as well as several of his business partners.” Ciel winced, thinking of the man in the alley. “We can embarrass him there and shatter his reputation.” That shouldn’t be enough; a part of Ciel wanted to cause Vincent more pain. The only sure way to leave Vincent in ruins was to expose what type of activity the man liked doing with his son, but that would shatter Rachel’s heart. Ciel couldn’t bear to hurt his mother in that way. Especially since he would be dead after it was all done.

That was something he hadn’t given much thought. After it was all over, he would be dead, his soul devoured by Sebastian. He would be leaving his mother all alone.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Ciel?” And then there was this, the strange feeling that fluttered in his chest whenever Sebastian said his name. Or whenever Sebastian smiled. Or got too close. Or touched him. Ciel wanted to kiss him again, but pushed the thought away.

“I’m fine,” he growled out, more annoyed with himself than the demon next to him.

Feelings for a monster you promised your soul to were never a good idea, so Ciel tried his best to push it out of his head.

 

Rachel Phantomhive smoothed out her pale blue dress and fixed the sunhat on her head. She was the picture of a perfect housewife, although most people here knew her as an accomplished surgeon. Vincent had made it clear that whenever they were to appear together, Rachel played the role of doting trophy wife. However, Vincent was nowhere to be seen. Rachel smiled at another guest, nodding along and laughing at the appropriate times while her eyes scanned the crowds for her husband.

She saw a head of dark hair and eyes as blue as sapphires instead of Vincent’s light brown. Rachel smiled and waved at her son. Behind Ciel was a tall, handsome man, and Rachel’s smile at her son became one of intrigued. She nudged him as if they were conspirators and nodded to the man accompanying him.

“Hello, Mother,” Ciel said, leaning over to kiss her cheeks.

“Sweetheart, aren’t you going to introduce me to your date?” she asked. Ciel was quick to object.

“Not my date.” Rachel couldn’t tell if the man behind him looked more wounded or amused. “This is Sebastian Michaelis. Sebastian, this is my mother.” Ciel rolled his eyes when Sebastian held out his hand for Rachel to shake, but Rachel herself was enthusiastic. She rarely ever got to meet Ciel’s friends.

Sebastian was definitely a handsome man, and his eyes were such a beautiful color. A brown so rich it was almost red. He stood a strange distance away from them, not too far as to be awkward, but apart enough as if he did not want to be touched. The man towered over Ciel, and positioned himself _behind_ the boy protectively, possessively, instead of beside him. Rachel grimaced now that she’d noticed, but blamed her observations on her overprotectiveness of her son.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Mr. Michaelis. How did you meet Ciel?” The boy rolled his eyes again, then held up a hand to shade himself from the sunlight.

“We met at a photoshoot. He was part of the camera crew,” Ciel said. He pointed up at the sky and frowned. “Can we talk later, Mother? I feel like I’m about to get sunburnt.”

“What? You didn’t put on sunscreen before going out?” she scolded him and started to take off her hat. “Put this on,” she demanded, trying to set the thing onto Ciel’s head. He ducked out of the way with wide eyes as if she was offering him a baby alien instead of a hat.

“Mother! I am a grown man!” He huffed in annoyance, but Ciel always did that, so Rachel smiled and placed her hat back on her head. To her surprised, Sebastian was also looking on in amusement.

_He can’t be so bad_ , she thought. _He looks harmless_. Her gut told her differently, but standing so innocently in the afternoon light, Sebastian didn’t look very scary. She watched as he chuckled and took Ciel’s hand, teasing the boy quietly and flirtatiously enough to bring red to Ciel’s already flushed cheeks. _Harmless_ , Rachel told herself.  

 

“Your mother was delightful,” Sebastian said as they made their way down the boardwalk. The air was so fresh here, a mixture of the sea and all the open space. The beach was gorgeous, too. The crashing waves were never a sight to get tired of.

“Shut up.” Neither was Ciel.

The boy fiddled with a hat he bought from one of the stores lining the boardwalk, an obnoxious red thing that hid his blue eyes. Sebastian had suggested they also buy sunscreen, and Ciel had agreed until Sebastian offered to help him put it on. He hadn’t meant it, or at least he didn’t think so. Lathering sunscreen on Ciel meant having to touch him, and Sebastian’s hand still burnt from the handshake he shared with Rachel. Yet, there was something appealing about spreading sunscreen on Ciel’s bare skin.

“You’re thinking something disgusting. I can tell,” the boy was frowning, one hand on his hips and the other poking an accusing finger at Sebastian’s chest.

“I’m perfectly innocent, young master.” Sebastian held up his hands in surrender.

“I told you not to call me that.” To be honest, Sebastian liked the way Ciel blushed when he used the honorific.

“I apologize, Ci-”

“Wait.” Ciel looked past him, squinting under the bright red cap. “That’s my father.”

Vincent Phantomhive emerged from a striped cabana on the beach with hair that looked like it had been tugged too many times in too many different directions. He smelled of sex and that sulfuric scent that Sebastian had noticed back at the Phantomhive estate. The man was buttoning up his white shirt when a boy, dressed in a waiter uniform, followed him out the cabana.

At Sebastian’s side, Ciel murmured a string of curses.

Before Sebastian can stop him, Ciel had marched ahead, fury in his steps. Sebastian followed him down the beach, pausing once to empty his shoes of sand only to realize that they would eventually be filled again. When Sebastian finally reached Ciel, the boy was snapping at the waiter. The waiter, who was much too young to be caught with Vincent in a cabana, looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Don’t you have a fucking job to do?” Ciel asked venomously. The boy nodded, then scurried away in his rumpled uniform. A few people paused to stare when he ran past, but none cared enough to inquire after him. “Can I remind you, Father, that we are at a fundraising event?” The words were spat out past gritted teeth.

“There’s no need to be jealous, Ciel,” Vincent said, waving his hand in dismissal. Sebastian’s master looked as if he wanted to rip the man’s head off. “You look cute in this.” Vincent stretched out a hand with the intention to flick at Ciel’s hat, but Sebastian moved faster. Ciel’s silent order obeyed as soon as he’d thought it.

Sebastian stood between them, the grin on his face showing off a set of impressive fangs. Vincent hesitated, then took a step backwards.

Humans were so simple (unless they were like the one standing behind Sebastian); they mostly reacted the same when it came to fear. And Vincent was certainly fearful. It radiated off him in waves, combining with the sick scent of his blackened soul.

“Ah. Who is this?” He pointed to Sebastian, eyes narrowed.

“A friend.” Ciel’s voice still held that bitter note.

“I don’t remember allowing you to hang out with these sorts of people.” Sebastian was largely offended by the man’s remark. Vincent Phantomhive was not only sick, he was also a giant asshole. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way Sebastian was dressed.

“I didn’t ask for your permission, Father, nor do I need it.” Ciel stepped out from Sebastian’s shadow and glowered at Vincent. “What I did ask, was for you to not make a spectacle out of yourself. Fucking a waiter while you’re supposed to be showing your support for Mother’s fundraiser is exactly the type of thing I’d asked you _not_ to do.”

Sebastian understood now. Ciel didn’t care that his father had other sexual partners, and there was no doubt Vincent had plenty, the boy only cared that his father was ruining Rachel’s event.

“Watch your tone, boy.” Vincent jabbed a finger forward, but kept caution to not actually touch his son. _Smart_ , Sebastian thought. “Do you want me to tell your mother what you really are? You’ve always been such a momma’s boy, Ciel. Imagine how much she’ll hate you when she finds out that you’re the one who-”

“Threaten me all you want. We both know that you’re the one who has the most to lose if you tell her.” Ciel took a step closer until Vincent was only a breath away. “Go ahead, Daddy. Tell her who you like to fuck. _Test me_.” Vincent looked furious, but he kept his mouth shut. “Save what’s left of your dignity and stop using my mother as a way to blackmail me.”

With that, Ciel stormed back up to the boardwalk. Sebastian stayed a second to continue his observations of Vincent, then followed the boy off the beach.

 

“Slimy piece of fucking trash,” Ciel yelled, slamming his apartment door behind him. Sebastian grimaced as he watched, unsure of what to say. The boy had been in a sour mood the entire ride home, and everything, from the too slow driver they’d encountered on the highway to the sand stuck on his clothes, made him curse like sailor. Sebastian was starting to lose his sanity.

“Young master, please-”

“Fuck off! I told you not to call me that.” Ciel looked up shaking his shoes free of sand to shoot Sebastian a death glare. Sebastian, having had enough of the boy’s stubborn attitude, glared right back.

“I know that the encounter with your father was horrible and while your mood is justified, there is no reason to take your anger out on me.” The words were spoken with a low, calm voice, but there was enough edge behind it to keep Ciel quiet for a bit.

Satisfied with the subdued atmosphere, Sebastian headed to the kitchen to get something for his bratty master to eat.

“What would you like for dinner?” he asked, opening cabinets to see what he had to work with. There wasn’t much. Ciel kept an emptier kitchen than Sebastian did, and that was only because demons ate souls and souls must be consumed right away or else they go bad. He wished there was some type of way to keep a soul refrigerated for later.

“Cereal.” Ciel was leaning against the kitchen’s door frame, arms crossed and face in a scowl.

“You can’t have cereal for dinner,” Sebastian said, reminding himself to cut off the honorific. He expected some sort of thanks for it, but Ciel didn’t even look like he’d noticed.

“Who said?” the boy asked, shoving past Sebastian to reach for the sole cereal box. It was nearly empty, and it wasn’t even the healthy kind of cereal. Sebastian grimaced as Ciel dug out a handful and stuffed his mouth. “I can do whatever I want,” he said, sneering.

“Except you can’t. You promised me your soul, so you don’t get to eat this sugary garbage.” Sebastian yanked the box away.

“What the fuck? What does my soul have to do with what I eat?” Ciel stretched out an arm, but he was no match in size when it came to Sebastian. Or when it came to most, actually. Sebastian smirked.

“Your body is the package your soul comes in. I want both in good condition,” Sebastian argued, holding up the cereal box. He dangled it in front of Ciel and watched as the boy growl in annoyance.

“My body is in _very_ good condition,” Ciel said, inching closer. Then he switched tactics, eyes no longer on the out-of-reach box. “Wanna see?” He licked his lips, fingers playing with the bottom of his shirt. Sebastian’s eyes wandered downward, and Ciel seized the moment to snatch the cereal out of Sebastian’s hands. “Ha, I win.”

Sebastian twisted his expression into a frown, but underneath, he was pleasantly surprised with his manipulative little master. The demon waited until Ciel let his guard down, back pressed against the kitchen island as he cradled the box of cereal in arms, then Sebastian pounced. He held the box over Ciel’s head again, one eyebrow raised.

“Your dirty trick isn’t going to work twice,” Sebastian pointed out. Instead of being disappointed, the boy laughed softly. The sound did unintelligible things to Sebastian’s head. Nothing topped the sound of kittens meowing, but Sebastian quite liked the way Ciel laughed.

“So you admit my trick worked the first time,” he teased. Sebastian would have blushed if he could. Ciel held up a handful of sugary cereal, and Sebastian realized how close they were to each other. “Let’s make a deal,” the devious boy offered. “You let me eat this, and then I’ll have whatever you make for dinner.” Sebastian pretended to ponder for a moment.

“I’ll never understand your addiction to sweets,” he said, shaking his head in disapproval.

“The cereal isn’t that sweet,” Ciel argued. He placed one in his mouth. “Try it.” It isn’t the handful of sugar that Sebastian’s eyes are on. When Ciel held up a bit of cereal to Sebastian’s lips, the demon ignored it and captured Ciel’s mouth in a kiss instead.

The boy certainly tasted sweet, like he had the first time they’d kiss. But unlike the first time, this kiss lasted longer. Sebastian didn’t jump away when Ciel wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him impossibly closer.

Although his body felt like it was on fire everywhere Ciel touched, Sebastian let him do as he wished. The boy made quick word of the zipper on Sebastian’s pants, his hands moving with an urgency that made Sebastian want grab his wrists and hold him still. The demon wanted to be freed of his clothes such as much as the boy did, but Ciel was moving too quickly, too desperately.

“Are you alright, young master?” Sebastian broke the kiss, regretting it when he saw the expression on Ciel’s face. He was a mixture of lust and uncertainty, so Sebastian fixed his clothes and backed away.

“No, wait,” Ciel breathed out. His voice was already raw. He reached out a hand but didn’t know what he was reaching for, so it hovered between them until Sebastian intertwined their fingers. He brought Ciel’s hand to his lips, kissing the delicate fingers one at a time. “I’m okay. I mean it.”

“I apologize, little one. Today was a long day.” Sebastian didn’t make a habit out of sleeping with his meals, nor had he ever done so. It seemed wrong, to have sex with a human that he was going to eat later on. But it was more than that with Ciel. The boy had a rough day, and Sebastian wasn’t sure he was in the right frame of mind to be having sex with a demon. “Would you like pasta for dinner?” He wasn’t even sure if there was any pasta in the cabinets. Sebastian’s mind was spinning from the kiss.

“Did I hurt you?” Ciel asked timidly. His hand was still in Sebastian’s, but he pulled back slightly as he talked. “Does it hurt a lot when I touch you?”

A large part of Sebastian urged him to comfort the boy. He ignored the smaller part that shouted that Ciel was only a meal.

“No. I barely feel it anymore.” It was true. The pain was hardly there, and the images of emptied bodies along with the burning sensation of unsated hunger was nothing more than a twinge in the back of his mind. Ciel proved to be an exceptional distraction. To prove it, Sebastian placed a kiss at the base of Ciel’s neck.

In a tortuous and devilish move, Ciel moaned softly, his fingers tangled in Sebastian’s dark hair. It was Sebastian’s fault for initiating the kiss when the heat between them was just dying down, but now that he’d started, it was impossible to stop. It didn’t help that Ciel made such lewd noises, edging Sebastian on. The demon started kissing Ciel’s collar bone, brushing his fangs against the soft skin every now and then. It elicited such delightful sounds from the boy. Then Sebastian started to slowly pull back, and Ciel rose to meet his retreating kisses. It was adorable, and Sebastian was surprised at himself for thinking so.

Demons didn’t do such things with their meals, certainly not Sebastian. He had always kept his pleasure and his food separated. Ciel whimpered when Sebastian pulled entirely away, their hands the only things touching.

“Dinner, then?” Sebastian asked, grinning innocently. He quite liked the blush on Ciel’s cheeks. The boy pouted, murmured something about him being a tease, then sat down on one of the barstools at the kitchen island to sulk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the nice comments! I love you guys and I'm so grateful for such wonderful readers. Things are heating up between our lovable dorks and Vincent is acting shady af (but isn't he always). What do you think is gonna happen next? See you next week (hopefully)


	6. What Happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mentions of suicide and character death

He didn’t _need_ to feed. Demons were able to go months without eating, but a thirst burned deep inside him like a bonfire. It lit up his eyes and shown itself in the heat of his touch. The entire world could had been made of water, of cold and ice and frost, but this fire threatening to consume him would never be snuffed out.

It didn’t hurt, not the way it used to. Not the way it did when his previous master had left him starving and dying and burning out. This heat was different. It was specific. It wanted one thing. One human.  

Sebastian had been wandering the city for hours before he spotted the boy, short and lean with dark hair and a coy smirk. Part of his face was hidden by the shadows, streetlights casting a glow on his lips. He stood waiting until Sebastian walked closer, then turned and went.

His pace was fast, which was no problem for a demon, but Sebastian kept his own pace just enough to trail a few feet behind.

It wasn’t Ciel, he told himself. Ciel was in bed. Yet, he followed anyway.

People parted for the strange boy. It was past midnight so the only humans on the streets were partygoers. _Easy meals_ , Sebastian thought. There was something strange in the air and the crowds seemed to notice it. None paid much attention to the boy walking past them, but they stepped out of his way like he was the plague.

People flocked to Ciel, Sebastian knew that much. They smile and called out his name wherever he went. Some came up to ask for pictures or signatures, as expected. The boy’s face was on every screen.

The human Sebastian was following, however, had a soul rotten enough that even the humans around unconsciously sensed it. But that wasn’t why Sebastian trailed him. There was something unnerving about the way he moved, about his scent. He smelled like _Ciel_ , like roses and fresh snow.

He stopped in the middle of a street far from the parties and crowds. He stopped in the middle of a pool of shadows.

Then he laughed. It sounded like nothing at all, because it wasn’t a sound humans made. Sebastian should had known as much. This boy wasn’t a boy at all. It had been a trap.

“Oh, you _like_ this one, don’t you?” The boy asked. His voice was a whisper, a sound struggling to come through. He studied his hands, back still to Sebastian. “Or not _this_ one. Close, though. Right?”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Sebastian said, narrowing his eyes. He had no weapons, but demons themselves were worse than any knives of guns. His nails were already becoming claws.

“Ciel Phantomhive.” Sebastian flinched. He didn’t like the way his master’s name sat on this creature’s tongue. “Pretty little thing. I’ve yet to meet him, of course. His father was clear.”

“If you like having your head on your neck then I suggest you never meet him.” Claws and fangs now, ready to pounce and kill.

“You can’t kill me!” The creature laughed, its head tipping on its shoulders. Then it spun around, still laughing, and allowed Sebastian to see all the ways its body was burning out. The boy’s face was nothing more than black ashes and red heat. His eyes were already gone, smoky and charred. The scent of burnt hair smelt horrendous. Sebastian wanted to take a step back.  

“What are you?” he asked, shifting into a defensive stance instead.

“It hurts that you don’t remember me, Michaelis. We spent so much time together.” The remains of the boy floated up into the air, leaving behind shadows that moved unnaturally. There was a face there, though, dark and shifting. A face, a body, a set of eyes if Sebastian looked close enough. He doubted humans could see those features, but Sebastian picked them up one at a time until he had enough to piece a puzzle together.

“Claude Faustus.” Sebastian flexed his fingers, showing off a set of onix claws, jagged at the edges. “I thought I’d already tore you in pieces.”

Claude smirked, or tried to. His body didn’t seem like it was under his control. _What had he done?_ Sebastian wondered. Claude Faustus had been human, at least physically anyway. There was no sign of that humanity now.

“There was a time when you spoke to me more politely, Sebastian. I am your _master_ after all.”

“ _Was_ ,” Sebastian corrected in an agitated tone. Claude didn’t need to remind him. Sebastian’s time in Claude’s service haunted his thoughts enough.

“I know you despise me, but I need to warn you.” As he spoke, Claude shifted in and out of existence. It was like the world was trying to eat away at him. “Do not get in my way, Michaelis. That being said, forfeit your contract with the boy and leave.”

It was an idiotic request. Whatever Claude was now, he was still no match for Sebastian, who knew the man well enough to know his tricks.

“I don’t think that will happen,” Sebastian replied. There was nothing stopping him from killing Claude right here, although there was the matter of whether or not a thing like Claude _could_ be killed. He wasn’t made of anything solid, just maladjusted shadows and deformed darkness.

Sebastian swung, his hand no longer resembling anything human. It was instead a limb of twisted muscles and bones. His claws halted inches away from Claude’s chest.

There was something buried inside Sebastian’s stomach and it sent blood spilling from his lips. The pain was unnatural, so completely foreign. It made his mind spin.

“It seems I have surpassed you.” Claude looked bored as he pulled back his arm and let Sebastian drop to the concrete. “That was a warning, old friend.”

 

Ciel nestled a bottle against his chest and let the wall support his head. It felt awfully heavy today. His limbs felt sluggish, as if he had no strength left to move them, the result of alcohol and nightmares. It wasn’t uncommon for him to drink an entire bottle before lunch, but he hadn’t done so since meeting Sebastian. Well, until now, anyway.

Sebastian was… somewhere. He hadn’t left a note behind and there was no breakfast when Ciel woke up. The apartment felt empty. Ciel’s apartment often felt empty, but this was different. He felt it in his bones, too, and it scared him more than it should.

Maybe the demon was hunting. It was alright, he tried to convince himself. Sebastian wouldn’t just abandon him. Ciel got to his feet, slightly swaying from the alcohol. The room was spinning, every piece of furniture looking like it had multiplied. He felt his way around the apartment and threw a coat over his shoulders.

 

The cab driver wasn’t Sebastian, but he had black hair and point canines so Ciel had chosen him over the woman that waited for him outside his building. It was a bad move. This cab driver knew him, was a fan, a “big fan,” and spent the entire ride telling Ciel about his aspiring model career. Ciel had long stopped listening, letting the driver’s rambles play in the background.

The skies were the kind of dark gray that tricked you into thinking it was almost night, but it was actually only noon. It was too hot, even for summer, so Ciel rolled down the window and stuck out his hand. Tiny drops of rain filled his palm as city skyscrapers faded into the rolling hills of the countryside.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

He frowned at the driver and caught the man’s dark eyes in the rearview mirror. It was such a familiar scene that Ciel immediately looked away.

“Why? What are the gossip papers saying?” He scoffed, eyes back on the clouds threatening to spill.

“There are pictures of you with a man. Uh, from the park?” _Oh_. That day had been alright until the pervert had ruined it.

“Not a boyfriend,” Ciel said, quieter.

“A friend then?” the driver asked. He was met with a sigh.

“No. Not that either.” It was true, but saying it out loud made him angry. “Are we almost there yet?” he asked between gritted teeth. Somewhere in his head, Sebastian’s voice urged him to be patient.

“We’ve only been driving for thirty minutes, sir.”

_Fuck_.

 

Claude Faustus admired his portrait in the Phantomhive living room. It captured him beautifully, the shadow for a face, the long legs. The Trancy brat had talent, he admitted. Alois had only been ten when-

“Did you do what I told you?” Vincent came running down the stairs, hands covered in blood. He shoved them under a faucet in the kitchen. “Claude! Are you listening?” Claude shifted, dull pain following the movement of his joints. It was difficult, but he had managed to pull the shadows into something that resembled his human body. His skin was too pale, veins too prominent, but it was passable.

“I got rid of your competition, if that is what you are asking.” Vincent came into the living room, hands no longer bloody. “When do I meet this prodigal son of yours?”

“Never.” Vincent checked his reflection in the hallway mirror, wincing as he pressed on the bruise that took up the left side of his face. “Fucking bitch,” he murmured.

“It will look suspicious,” Claude injected.

“I’ll just say we had an argument. She beat me, then went upstairs.” Vincent pushed over a lamp and scattered some papers on the floor. He moved a couch to the side and smashed a picture frame. Under the broken glass, Rachel and Ciel smiled up. “I want you gone when he gets here.”

“Or I’ll stay and see the boy that helped corrupt your soul.”

“I’m still not over that little stunt you pulled the other night. I don’t trust you around my child.” The doorbell rung; Vincent flashed Claude a hard glare. “Leave.”

When Vincent opened the door, his son was standing on the porch sporting a frown. Ciel’s hair was a mess and he smelled like a liquor store.

“Baby…” Vincent fell to his knees. He shuddered, dry sobs wracking his body. The man whimpered and cried and sniffled.

“Father? What’s wrong?” Ciel’s hand caressed Vincent’s cheek, his eyebrows scrunched together in worry. “What is it?”

Vincent let himself sob for a few more seconds, then looked up and showed Ciel his reddened eyes. “Your mother, she… Fuck, Ciel. I don’t know what to do.” A sort of sick glee danced through him when Ciel took Vincent’s hands in his.

“Tell me what happened.”

 

Rachel Phantomhive wanted the best for her son. She wanted more for him than whatever her husband had planned. Ciel had been such a happy little boy, the light of Rachel’s life. She loved him with all her heart and soul. She loved him unconditionally. But he’ll never know that.

He should have came to her. Should have told her everything. She should have been a better mother. Should have worked less and spent more time with her son. Should have seen.

She would have rescued him, taken him away from a father that shamed him into incestus acts, a father that turned a boy’s harmless kink into something twisted and disgusting. A father that convinced him that his mother would turn her back on him.

Rachel loved Ciel unconditionally. She would have killed for him.

But he’ll never know that.

As she laid in bed, breath shallow and heartbeat slowing, it hurt her most to know that she was leaving him on his own. Would Vincent let him find her like this? Make him think she had killed herself when she’d found out?   

She wanted to write him a note, to tell him that he would always be her perfect son and nothing was ever going to change that. But her limbs didn’t move no matter what she told them. The bed was stained with her blood now. She had never imagined death would be so cold.

 

Ciel had spent two days guarding the door to his mother’s bedroom, even after the police came and took her body away. He’d spent two entire days feeling empty, as if his soul had already been consumed. Every breath he’d took felt like a thousand knives scratching the inside of his throat.

The police hadn’t even bothered talking to him. One of the officers had given him a glass of water; it still sat next to him on the floor, full.

Vincent had said that Rachel saw them on the beach, that she heard what they were talking about. She had started the fight. She had threatened to kill him. She had said Ciel was no longer her son. And then she went upstairs and slit her wrists.

Ciel had closed his eyes, gone over the moment he saw her lying in her own pool of blood, the panicked look in Vincent’s eyes when Ciel had picked up a nearby vase and sent it hurdling down the hall. He’d gone over all the thoughts he had immediately after. His mother was gone. His only reason for living was gone.

On the third day, he got to his feet and walked until he was in the backyard. Sunlight stopped its dance on the surface of the pool, the air stilled like it was waiting for him. He took a step forward, then another, then another until he was waist deep in the water. Then he held his breath and walked until his feet could no longer reach the bottom.     

 

No one bothered to talk about the process of dying. It was always _how_ you die, what happened _after_. The inbetween though, that was the most important. No one talked about how your body slowly gave out, how your heart struggled to beat even though everything else was giving up. No one talked about what dying people think of while they drift between living and the emptiness of death.

He had thought about his life, about all the places he’d traveled, about the things he’d seen. He’d thought about them long and hard until he realized that none of them mattered to him. They would go on after he died, would go on without any memory of him.

A body was only able to fight for so long and his had started to cave hours before. The hunger had driven him insane, the piles of naked bodies all devoid of souls were even worse. They tormented him, glass-eyed and lips parted in a perpetual look of surprise.

Demons didn’t die. But there he had been.

Claude had tricked him, had called him into a contract for all the wrong reasons. Sebastian had been an experiment. He should be angry, pissed off, vengeful, and he was, but he was also afraid. That wasn’t a demon trait either. Maybe his humanity was finally catching up to him. Maybe meeting Ciel had been the catalyst.

He sighed and parked the yellow taxi cab by the side of the road. Sebastian Michaelis didn’t _run_ . He _fought_ . And when he finally found something that _mattered_ , he fought even harder. He tossed the keys onto the sidewalk and started his trek back to his city, to his master. To the boy that he would endure fire for.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this took so long, but now we're at the actual plot! The next chapter will be up soon (I already have half of it written) so the wait won't be long. I love every comment you leave me so please continue to give feedback! Even though I might not reply to every one, they all make me very happy to be writing for you all!


	7. Be Patient, Ciel

Someone was calling his name. It was faint, a sound muffled and muddled. It was urgent but soothing. He wanted to pressed his hands over his ears. He didn’t want to wake up. It had been alright, empty and cold and dark, but he didn’t have to think about his father or _her_. Or the man that made him feel all twisted up inside.

_Sebastian._

Sebastian would be pissed. He wanted a soul. He wanted it alive. Ciel didn't know if souls were still edible after the body’s death. He hoped his was. He should have waited for Sebastian to come back. In a way, he did wait. Three days. How many times did he scream Sebastian’s name in his head? Called it with his sleeve pressed tight to his lips? The demon never showed.

Perhaps he was here now, chanting Ciel’s name like it was a mantra. Hands were running up his body. How did hands even get all the way down to him? He had crossed the line of life so many hours ago. It felt like hours. Was it not?

Something was pushing down on his chest, over and over and over, creating a beat in his head and telling his heart to beat along. His heart shouldn’t be beating anymore.

But it did. It fought despite him telling it to rest. Human bodies were such treacherous things. His eyelids flutter and he felt so so cold, but the world was blinding white except for the wet strands of black hair hanging near his face. Ciel tried to talk but nothing came out. He was barely alive.

Then something else dragged him down. It was horrible, a combination of motion sickness and thousands of needles stuck in his skin. He had felt this before. On the bridge. With Sebastian.

His soul was being yanked out of him, ripped and torn out like it was nothing more than paper. That was why he was brought alive; so, he could be consumed by a demon. He curled into himself, fighting and letting go at the same time.

This wasn’t Sebastian. Ciel could make out clawed fingers and sharp teeth but none of it belonged to his demon. This creature was more savage, further from humanity. Its limbs bent and jutted out, bones crackling under the black suit it wore. It smiled, lips red and malicious.

“I see why he’s so infatuated,” the monster said. It wasn’t trying to eat him again; claws raked down Ciel’s cheeks, scratching three thin lines of blood just under his left eye. “He would walk through fire to consume a soul like yours. It won’t kill him, of course. Still, it’s a touching gesture.” Ciel wanted to sit up but his bones were so tired. His body did not bother listening to the wills of his mind.

The demon was leaning down again. It smelt like ashes and vinegar. It stuck a claw in its mouth and sighed in orgasmic bliss. “Even your blood is exquisite!” The creature sucked until each claw was cleaned of red, then it ghosted its lips over Ciel’s bloodied cheek. “Give yourself over to me, little Phantomhive. What other reasons do you have to live?”  

 

Sebastian was covered in blood. Droplets of it had splattered on him when he swung the meat cleaver at Claude. The man was kneeling by the pool, his blood turning the blue waters red. There were forks jutting out of where his eyes should be and a steak knife rested in his jugular. It wouldn’t kill him, but he was too busy whining about the pain to come any closer. Sebastian kept an eye on him as he made his way to his young master.

The boy on the ground was covered in water. His hair dripped a puddle around his head and his lips were a sickening shade of purple. Sebastian checked his pulse.

Ciel’s soul was still intact even though Claude had begun feasting on him as soon as he could. Sebastian had been quick, making use of the tools he found in the kitchen. When he had arrived, Claude was in the midst of bringing Ciel back from the dead. There was nothing to do now. This was Ciel’s battle to fight. Sebastian leaned down so that his lips were by Ciel’s ear. His soul smelled delightful. It was right there, unguarded for Sebastian to take.

“What a pathetic end, young master. Is this how you want to die? Having accomplished nothing?” He stroked Ciel’s cold cheek with a finger, an expression of mock despair on his face. “Here I was thinking you were special. But you’re just going to let go of your revenge.”

Sebastian trailed his lips down Ciel’s neck but the boy didn’t respond. He laid like a doll on the tiles, surrounded by Sebastian’s black tendrils and demonic shadows. He wondered what was taking Ciel so long. “Our contract is already forfeited, since you decided to off yourself. You’re not going to even care if I take a bite, will you? In that case…” Sebastian opened his mouth to show off his fangs, but when he brushed them against the boy’s skin and a taste of Ciel’s soul ghosted over his tongue, a hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of Sebastian’s hair.

“Get off me, you fucking bastard.” Ciel’s breath was ragged and he struggled to sit up. Sebastian dutifully knelt in front of him, watching with a small frown. His throat was burning with want but he swallowed it back. Ciel gritted his teeth and pressed a hand to his neck, feeling his pulse. Then he took a handful of Sebastian’s tie and dragged the demon towards him.

Sebastian was on all fours, led by his tie like it was a leash and he was a dog. Ciel knelt before him, sneering.

“I hope you weren’t trying to eat me, Sebastian.” The tie was tight around the demon’s neck but Sebastian smiled and breathed in the scent of his master.

“I thought provoking you would be enough to wake you.” He smiled as kindly as he could while the more monstrous side of him rioted. His meal had been so close.

Now, his master was closer, growling as he yanked hard on Sebastian’s tie and brought their faces inches away from each other.

“Where the fuck were you?” the boy asked. He wasn’t afraid of the monsters on either side of him, although Claude was currently down for the count. Ciel handled Sebastian like the demon was nothing more than a misbehaving pet, and Sebastian found it absolutely thrilling.

“I had a moment of weakness, young master.” He was having a moment of weakness now. He wanted, needed, to touch Ciel, but then the boy stood up still gripping the tie and forced Sebastian to crane his neck.

“It took me almost dying to bring you here. Don’t let it happen again.” Ciel released the tie and turned to face Claude, but Sebastian was still caught on his words.

“Young master, do not tell me you staged a suicide to call me back to you.” Ciel scoffed, his attention on his soaked clothes.

“My mother would never kill herself. Father must think I’m an idiot.” At first, he did believe it. But then none of the details were adding up. Ciel had sat on the floor and contemplated Vincent’s claims for two days. He knew his mother, knew her better than anyone. She advocated for mental health and tried to make him go to a therapist when he was younger because she thought he had depression. His mother was a fighter, and she loved him but she had more than him. She had a job where she saved people’s lives and she had a circle of friends and supporters.

Part of him wanted to die, and part of him did when his body was drowning. But if his mother didn’t kill herself, then Ciel knew who did. That was the part of him that lived, that breathed fresher air and jumpstarted his heart. That was the part that told him to get revenge.

That was all Ciel was right now, a boy full of hatred and vengeance. To start, he strolled to the hunched over creature that had dragged him away from death just to try and feast on him. Sebastian had made a mess of the creature’s eyes. Ciel yanked out the forks and the monster released a hideous cry.

It looked at him, bewildered and curious and delirious with want. He sneered at it, then jammed the forks back into its eye sockets.

“How do we kill it, Sebastian?” Ciel called back to his demon. Sebastian was a sight standing pool side in his damp clothes. Ciel must had gotten water on him, because the demon’s black strands of hair stuck to his face and dripped water down his white shirt. The material was practically see through. Ciel swallowed and looked away.

“I do not quite know. Demon are not easily killed, but I’m sure _what_ he is.” Sebastian draped his coat over Ciel’s shoulders and went to inspect the bleeding creature. He bent down and tipped the creature over with his pointer finger until it landed with a splash in the pool. “I need time to figure out how to get rid of him.”

Ciel looked back to his house. If you ignored the pool and all the streaks of blood, the back of the house looked perfectly normal. He began walking to the patio doors.

His mother used to sit out here when the weather was nice, a book in her hand while he swam. She used to make them burgers on summer days when his father was busy at work and her friends were spending the day at their house. Ciel wanted to forget all of it for now. He needed to. He saw her in everything and it dug a hole in him that he craved to fill.

“Sebastian, let's go home.”

 

Sebastian’s plan was to deposit his little master at the boy’s apartment before heading off in search of a way to kill Claude, but as soon as they passed the threshold, Ciel slammed the door shut and pulled Sebastian in for a heated kiss. The boy tangled himself with the demon and while Sebastian could wretch free in moments, he didn’t. Not yet. He craved this too, had been wanting to touch Ciel ever since he’d made the mistake of leaving.

What power did Claude have over a contract between a human and his demon? Their connection was stronger than anything else. Sebastian could only die if Ciel willed it. His life was never in Claude’s hands but his little master’s.

The boy was infectious, hands moving from one piece of clothing to another in search of skin. He peeled away Sebastian’s coat and let it fall uselessly to the floor. They were still wet from the pool, and the fabric of Ciel’s shirt clung to him relentlessly. Sebastian practically ripped it off, buttons scattering onto the wooden floor.

“Is this okay?” he asked, lips sucking bruises onto Ciel’s skin. He wanted to sink his fangs in and take what the more monstrous part of him was craving. He pulled away before the temptation became too much. Ciel was an addict’s nightmare. Sebastian had only had one taste but it was enough to make his throat burn with constant want. He’d never knew there could be a human equivalent of heroin, but there his little master was.

“ _Fuck yes_ ,” Ciel moaned, wrapping his arms around Sebastian’s neck and nibbling on his earlobe. The demon was holding the boy, lifting him up so that Ciel’s legs curled around Sebastian’s waist. He could feel his fangs digging into his bottom lip, sharper than usual as fought to contain his demon form.

Ciel was hard to keep a hold of; he kept squirming, trying to grope as much of Sebastian as he could. They were both shirtless, which didn’t seem enough for the boy as he was shoving his hands between them to unbutton Sebastian’s pants.

The demon shoved Ciel against the wall, sandwiching him between charcoal painted drywall and Sebastian’s chest. Ciel hissed when his bare back pressed against the cool wall, fingernails digging into Sebastian’s shoulders. It would leave marks for only a few seconds, a thought which has Sebastian disappointed in his healing abilities for the first time in centuries. He wanted to be marked, wanted his little master to claim him with bite marks and hickeys.

Ciel had the same intention because he sunk his teeth into the crescent between Sebastian’s neck and shoulder. It didn’t hurt but it was enough to make Sebastian utter a deep growl and bury his face in the boy’s hair. The scent was overwhelming. His body wanted to do so much more than touch.

Fingers pulled at the waistband of Ciel’s pants, asking for permission. Sebastian felt sheepish and heated; demons did not ask for permission. They take what they wanted. Even so, he traced circles on the boy’s hipbone until Ciel had enough and struggled out of Sebastian’s hold to rid himself of the remnants of his clothes.

Once fully naked, he strode forward, back to Sebastian’s arms, but the demon reached out with two hands and scoped Ciel up. The boy yelped from the unexpected gesture and frowned at Sebastian disapprovingly.

“Where are we going?” he asked as his demon carried him deeper into the apartment.

“To bed.” Sebastian snuck kisses onto Ciel’s forehead, then dropped the boy onto the sheets. Sebastian was in the middle of removing his pants when he looked up and caught Ciel’s eyes. He had a look that scared the both of them so Sebastian took his hand and stared gingerly back.

“Don’t ever leave me again,” Ciel ordered. He was already coming back to himself, shoving and hiding away whatever burst of emotion had overpowered him. “I need you.”

“For your revenge,” Sebastian finished. He tried not to seem upset, but it must have registered on his face because Ciel brought up a hand to caress his cheek.  

“No. I just need you.”

Sebastian’s skin was on fire. Well, that was what it felt like against Ciel’s palm anyway. He didn’t pull away though, didn’t want to. He let the heat swallow him whole as Sebastian enveloped Ciel’s body with his own and kissed the boy hard and messy.

Ciel’s hand was stroking at his own length, desperate and needing release. He lifted up his hips as much as he could with Sebastian pushing down on him, whining as he parted his lips for Sebastian’s tongue. A larger hand covered Ciel’s as Sebastian pulled away from the kiss and lined up their cocks.

It was no doubt that Sebastian was much bigger, which only made Ciel more desperate to get his demon inside him. Sebastian was rubbing both of their lengths together, beads of precum dripping down the tip of Ciel’s cock and slicking up his hand.

He whimpered at the sight, his free hand reaching out to grab Sebastian’s wrist and dig his fingers in. If it hurt the demon did not notice. His glowing red eyes were transfixed on the Ciel, and they roamed up and down the boy’s body with such intensity that it made him blush and throw an arm over his eyes.

Seeing that, Sebastian immediately gripped Ciel’s wrist and pinned down his arm, the corners of his lips turning down in disapproval.

“I want you to look at me.” That was almost enough to make Ciel cum. He gritted his teeth and nodded once with disappointment when Sebastian pulled away.

“W-Wait-” he stuttered, sitting up and climbing onto Sebastian’s lap. “I’m looking. Don’t go.” Sebastian watched him for a second, then gently wrapped his arm around Ciel’s waist.

“I was going to get the condoms and the lube,” Sebastian explained, running fingers through Ciel’s hair. He leaned into the touch, feeling embarrassed about his sudden outburst.

“Lube’s in the bedside drawer,” he looked at Sebastian from under his eyelashes, “is it alright if we don’t use a condom?” Sebastian shrugged as he got up and dug through Ciel’s cabinet.

“It’s up to you, really.” Ciel supposed demons didn’t have to worry about STDs, not that he had any, of course. He stared at the curve of Sebastian’s back as the demon bent down in search of the lube. His body was so perfect; Ciel could study it forever and never get bored. He blushed when Sebastian turned around and caught him staring.

“Can I ride you?” The words slipped out and Ciel’s cheeks got even redder. It was normal for him to be bold and lewd, but now he was conscious of everything he was doing. Sebastian didn’t seem to mind. The bed dipped as he settled on it and pulled Ciel closer to him.

“Next time. Let me do the work today.” He placed a hand on Ciel’s chest, signaling the boy to lie down. Sebastian propped a pillow under Ciel’s hips and draped Ciel’s legs over his shoulders.

He was blushing again, imagining how exposed he was to the demon between his legs. Sebastian was distracted coating his fingers with lube so Ciel took a moment to hide his face behind his hands and squeeze his eyes shut tight. As he thought, his wrists are pinned down above his head in nanoseconds.

“We can stop if you’d like,” Sebastian said gently. Ciel opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

“I feel like an inexperienced virgin,” he moped. Sebastian chuckled and pressed their lips together. He pulled a centimeter away and made Ciel reach up for him, and he did, would reach for Sebastian as many times as the demon wanted him to.

“Is it the position?” Sebastian asked. He turned his head to nibble on Ciel’s leg, making the boy shiver. He was right, but Ciel wasn’t going to tell him that he usually had sex bent over furniture with his back to whoever was hammering away at him. This slow pace that Sebastian insisted on was making him crazy with lust.

“Just go faster. You’re taking forever and I- _Fuck!_ ” A finger, slick and cold with lube had been prodding at his hole without rush, but now it slid into him; Sebastian curled his finger in a way that pressed into Ciel’s prostate and made the boy twitch with want. He cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure when Sebastian quickened the pace and added another finger to fuck Ciel with.

His arms were still pinned so Ciel arched his back and curled his toes in desperation. He didn’t want to cum like this. _How embarrassing_ would that be, cumming before he’d even got a sample of what Sebastian’s cock felt like stretching him out.

His eyes were on the demon’s throbbing member. Ciel shuddered at the way Sebastian was fingering him, working him wide and open for his cock. He licked his lips in anticipation, wanting to have the dripping head in his mouth. He could worship that cock for an entire day and not have enough. Ciel _needed_ to have it in him and he didn’t care which of his holes Sebastian wanted to use.

He threw back his head and cursed when Sebastian added a third finger. Warmth traveled up Ciel’s body as the demon between his legs trailed kisses up his torso. Sebastian paused at Ciel’s nipples, taking one in his mouth and circling his tongue around it in a way that has Ciel whimpering and squirming under him.

“P-please,” the boy begged, thrusting up his hips and trying to grind his cock against any part of Sebastian he could get. The demon chuckled and silenced Ciel’s desperate whines with his lips. He swept a line over Ciel’s bottom lip with his tongue and replaced the fingers in the boy’s ass with his cock in one fluid motion.

“Be patient, Ciel.”

Ciel jolted, crying out in surprise. His thighs were quivering, wrapped around Sebastian’s waist instead of draped over his shoulder. It was so fucking _frustrating_ that Sebastian was still holding his hands down. Ciel wanted to sink his nails into Sebastian’s back, wanted to scratch lines onto his demon’s flawless skin even if they would heal in seconds. He wanted to leave marks all over Sebastian’s skin until it was clear who the demon belonged to.

Something sharp trailed up Ciel’s thigh, making him hiss in pain. Sebastian’s fingernails were jagged black claws that dug greedily into Ciel’s skin. The demon’s eyes were glowing a red so vibrant it might as well have been violet, and through his parted lips, Ciel could see pointed fangs. It was a reminder that he wasn’t human despite his usual composure and appearance. Sebastian Michaelis was a monster and a nightmare, but he belonged to Ciel, a fact made clear by the way Sebastian’s shuddering breath warmed Ciel’s lips as the demon looked into his eyes like he was the only thing that existed.

This feeling was powerful, and Ciel relished in it as body enjoyed the rough and savage way in which his demon fucked him. The desperate yet tender way Sebastian touched him made it clear what powers Ciel had over the demon. It was what the boy needed to prove to himself. He tangled his fingers in Sebastian’s hair and kissed him until his lungs were burning for air.

Theirs was a connection that Vincent and Claude will never be able to sever. Ciel buried his face in the crook of Sebastian’s neck and smiled. No more gingery approach.

Now he was coming for his father’s head.       

     

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have three in-progressed fics now so you get to decide which one I update first for the next update! Message me on tumblr at [orangeships](https://orangeships.tumblr.com/) and tell me which fic you want


	8. You've Been a Good Boy

Alois Trancy was rather pleased when world-renowned fashion designer, Nina Hopkins proposed that her newest line be a collaboration. He was hesitant during the process, but the final designs looked stunning. Nina had somehow turned his art into clothes. She paced back and forth on the runway stage, nervously clicking her pointed boots with each step despite every preparation already made and meticulously looked over.   

“She’s like this before every show.” Alois looked up from his doodling to glance at the boy standing beside him.

Ciel’s hair was neatly combed back, showing off his brilliant blue eyes. He was dressed in one of Nina’s pieces, a sleek black suit with red trims and a breast pocket of purple and indigo swirls, a miniature version of a painting Alois did last year.

“You look amazing,” Alois said, sounding too breathless and in awed. He smiled awkwardly and closed his sketchbook.

“Thank you.” The response was a bit stiff, as if Ciel was just as uncomfortable. He shifted his weight and shoved his hands into the pocket of perfectly tailored suit pants. “They won’t let me walk around with the cloak so this isn’t the finished look.”

“Yeah I remembered there was more to this suit,” Alois replied. Things became quiet between them as the crew finished setting up. Ciel turned, about to take his place backstage when Alois hastily said, “I’m sorry. About your mother.”

The other boy halted in his steps, back turned and head slightly lowered. Then he tossed Alois an empty look. “Don’t apologize for a crime you didn’t commit.” He strolled off as if their conversation never happened, flashing smiles to other models and greeting the makeup artists with all the charm in the world.

Alois spared Ciel another glance, then held his sketchbook under his arm and ducked backstage.

 

The warmth of the venue was starting to get to him, but it was nothing compared to the set of red eyes that drifted lazily past his. They weren’t predatory, unlike what he imagined, unlike the eyes in his dreams. The demon lounging around backstage was not the one that haunted Alois’ nightmares, but it was a demon nonetheless. He knew, from the too-pointed fangs to the unnaturally slitted pupils that seemed to glow in the dim light, that this man was not _human_. Not anything close.

Alois wondered if Ciel knew. The boy, now with a pale blue trench coat draped over his shoulders, was leaning towards the demon with a smirk. Ciel’s eyes, the skin around them bearing a streak of golden glitter, were more mischievous than those of the monster he was conspiring with.

A few flips through his sketchbook showed Alois an old drawing he did of the monster that frequently haunted his thoughts. _His_ demon had hazel eyes, pupils slitted. Alois frowned at the sketch.

When Ciel walked by, he grabbed the boy’s arm. Off to the side, the demon was watching.

“That man you’re with… How well do you know him?” Ciel frowned, throwing a quick glance to the creature before narrowing his eyes at Alois.

“What is it?” He dusted at his arm where Alois had grabbed and furrowed his brows. Then Ciel’s eyes drifted to the drawing on Alois’ lap. He cursed under his breath. “Meet me at my apartment after.”

 

“How well do you know him?” Sebastian was frowning at the doorway, a guard dog on the lookout.

The fashion show had been a good change of pace, one Ciel desperately needed, but now it was back to business as usual. He had wiped the gold makeup from his face hours ago, had felt vulnerably naked without the streak of glitter as he stared into the mirror.

What did his fans imagine his life was life? Endlessly glamorous and uncomplicated? The only scandal he has on him was the string of parties he attended, otherwise, Ciel had managed to keep most of his life out of the press.

The news of Rachel’s death was no doubt on every gossip magazine and website. And if Ciel’s plans worked out, his father’s death would follow suit. How would he be looked at then?

He shook his head, feeling silly for even bothering with the thought. After Vincent’s death came his. _Obviously_. It didn’t matter what people would be saying about him. He would be gone. Ciel threw a glance at Sebastian, chewing on his bottom lip as he tried to looking at ease.

Their contract was so close to coming to an end. Wasn’t that all there was of their relationship? A demon and his charge? The other night… That had been just so Ciel would know how loyal his demon was. He chanted the thought in his head, refusing to believe it was a lie.

He needed them to be nothing more, needed Sebastian to be selfish and ruthless.

The demon turned and cocked an eyebrow at Ciel as if he heard the boy’s thoughts. Ciel grew red, cheeks hot with embarrassment.

“Young master-”

A knock sounded on the door. They both stilled for a moment, then Ciel got up and yanked the door open, grateful for the interruption. Whatever Sebastian wanted to say, it couldn’t have been anything Ciel wanted to hear.

Alois was standing in the hallway cradling about a dozen sketchbooks. He glared at Sebastian with hostility before shifting his gaze to Ciel. The other boy invited Alois in without any of the warmth a normal house-visit would warrant.

Ciel eyed the sketchbooks that Alois placed on the coffee table; the blond dropped onto the couch and sighed.

“It must be so nice to have an apartment in the city. I can’t believe this is the view you get everyday.” He gestured to the large windows, fingers twitching as if he wanted to reach for his pencil and sketch.

“The painting that I bought from you,” Ciel started, reclining back into his own chair. Sebastian moved to stand at his side like a dutiful servant. “How do you know that man?” Ciel had mistaken the subject of Alois’ painting for Sebastian, but it was clear now that it was Claude.

Instead of answering, Alois bent down and flipped open his books. Every page was filled meticulously with detailed sketches of the demon, both in his human form and the shrouded monster he was when he had tried to eat Ciel.

The boy traced his fingers over the lines that made up Claude’s horns, small and dull instead of the neat points demons are depicted having. It was true what Sebastian had said. Claude was not meant to be this _thing_. He had forced it upon himself as a result of some sick need for power and immortality. Now he was fading, his body no longer able to sustain him.

“My father lusted after invincibility.” Alois flipped to another picture of the demon, this one focusing on his yellow eyes. “He was a good man but he was willing to do bad things for power. Claude saw that and used it to manipulate him. Father eventually grew mad and killed himself.”

“I suppose that means Vincent is the next experiment.” Sebastian pondered at the sketches, his lips in a slight frown. “That would explain why his soul smelt foul.”

Ciel’s expression was grim as he stared at Sebastian. The path he wanted to take was clear, but the demon would not agree.

 

He let the red liquid slosh over the living room carpet, making a spectacular mess as he strolled through the old mansion. Wine spilled carelessly from the lip of the bottle in his hand but his eyes were on the painting hanging over the fireplace. How had he been blind enough to mistake this monstrosity for _his_ demon? Sebastian had much more grace.

Ciel chucked the bottle at the canvas, sending glass and wine flying into the air. He wanted the sound to be louder, but the crash was barely audible. _Someone_ heard it though; no doubt the exact someone Ciel wanted to see.

“There are better ways to summon me, young master.” Claude’s voice drifted in and out of reality. His words floated as if they existed in a different dimension. He was in his human form now, ash instead of skin making patches up and down his face and neck. His hair drifted like tendrils suspended in water, the ends twitching with urgency. He was a Medusa more hideous than the Gorgon herself.

“I want to make a deal.” Ciel’s words echoed in the space between them.

“You wish to steal from your father in such a way?” Vincent had appeared in the room, his eyes narrowed on his son.

“I don’t have a father,” Ciel said, keeping his chin high as he returned Vincent’s harsh glare. “What I do have is a soul as dark as his.”

“Why would I want to make a trade then? I invested precious time-”

“Wouldn’t it please you to know you robbed Sebastian of a meal?” That was enough to light a fire in Claude’s eyes. “You’re fading. You need a soul to latch onto and Vincent’s isn’t nearly ready. He’s old and once news spread that he killed my mother, he would be in jail for the rest of his life. Even if you do manage to escape capture, you’ll spend eternity on the run.” Ciel shrugged, taking pleasure in the way he could see Claude’s mind rewinding, considering every single one of the boy’s words.

“Why are your breaking your contract with Sebastian?” Ah, Ciel had anticipated this. _So predictable._

“I don’t want to die.” Not true. “You only need to bind to my soul. I would still be able to live in a way.” Ciel turned his gaze to Vincent who had been oddly silent. “And I want to strip him of everything he has. I want to stab him for every year he laid his hands on me.” That was true enough. “So what do you say?”

 

Sebastian felt it when Ciel was ripped from him. It hurted, like the first time, drove him nearly mad with how much it hurted. He pushed on, taking the stairs two at a time and clenching his teeth as he tried to contain his demon form. Claude was breaking the most important code between demons, perhaps the only code every member of their species adhered to.

Demons did not live by many rules, even contracts with humans could be violated (if one were smart enough to find the loopholes), but stealing already claimed souls meant betrayal of demon-kind. Claude wouldn’t know this, of course, having only studied enough to _become_ one of them. He never spent enough time getting settled in their community (not that there was much of one; demons did not like to travel in packs).

It was such a silly mistake, one only a power-hungry insect would make. As Sebastian made his way to the heart of the Phantomhive manor, he could hear the screams of angered demons. They filled the air with their sulfuric scent, ashes and copper thick enough to cover the sweetness of Ciel’s soul.

Demons, in their truest forms, climbed each other for a chance to tear at Claude Faustus and while Sebastian would have once scoffed at them and be on his way, there was a boy in the center of the smoke that called out to him fearlessly. _Silly little master_.

Even after all their time together, Ciel still often forgot that he need only think of his demon for Sebastian to be summoned. But let him scream; Sebastian’s name on his lips only reminded the demon of what he had to lose.

Normal humans would be cowering if they were to find themselves in a tornado of furious monsters. Ciel Phantomhive stood as tall as he could and scowled at each one of them instead. His eyes were blue fire when they met Sebastian’s, and he growled out a complaint only _he_ would make.

“You’re late,” Ciel scolded. He was impatient and hot-headed, a dangerous combination but one Sebastian did not know if he quite hated.

“Time is a human concept, young master.” Sebastian held out a hand but did not wait for Ciel to take it. The demon was already walking forward, pushing away from the nearly burnt out Claude and into the swarm of desperate creatures. He had wanted to see Claude die, wanted to rip out Claude’s heart himself, but there were more important things. Sebastian pushed forward as the demons parted for him until he stood on the front porch of the manor, his hand still held out.

Their contract was nearly severed and Sebastian did not know which ties still held it in tact, but it should be enough for Ciel to come through untouched. That was, if he had been following Sebastian at all. There was a chance that the boy had found his own way, a disappointing possibility but one nonetheless. Sebastian grimaced, lowering his hand when tunnel he created started to close.

Just then, a smaller hand slipped over his fingers to grasp at him with surprising strength. Ciel stumbled out, eyes wide and lips parted as he swallowed breath after breath. Sebastian was quick to cover up his shocked expression but Ciel was already grinning.

“So quick to ditch me?” he asked, hand still in Sebastian’s. The demon entwined their fingers, tugging Ciel closer and matched the boy’s smug smile.

“I wanted to see how well you could follow.”

“Of course I’d chase after my pet,” Ciel teased, grabbing a fistfull of Sebastian’s hair and tugging their faces even closer. “Take me home Sebastian, then feel free to come back here and go wild. Enjoy yourself; you’ve been a good boy.” It was a command more than a suggestion, so Sebastian followed suit.

He didn’t dare tell Ciel that what he now enjoyed was being by his little master’s side, not playing the part of the savage beast. However, if that was what the boy wished, Sebastian would happily comply.            

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been more than a month??? Im hella sorry.  
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	9. You Were Just a Meal

A week went by without any sightings of Vincent Phantomhive. It was as if the man had vanished into thin air, although Ciel and Sebastian knew that was not the case. Ciel knew, better than anyone, the ferocity of his father. A Phantomhive got what he wanted, and Vincent was a true testament of that. 

The trouble now was that Ciel no longer knew what his father was after. His reputation was destroyed: Ciel being the one to push the police to further investigate his mother’s murder, and the banks had frozen all of his assets. What was left for Vincent to run to? 

The boy pondered this until a cup of tea was placed in front of him, steaming hot and smelling of bergamot. He looked up, squinting under the sun, at the intruder. The man smiled and took up space in the chair across from Ciel with such a relaxed composure that it made the latter shift uncomfortably. 

“What are you thinking about?” The question, while expected, went unanswered. Ciel sniffed at his tea before taking a hesitant sip. 

It was still only late afternoon but the sun had already dipped low behind a towering gothic church. The river beneath them shimmer with the sun’s rays, light dancing on the rippling surface. From here, Ciel could see ducklings resting on the bank of the river, their feathers wet from a recent swim. 

Across from him, Aleistor Chamber was rambling about romance and aesthetics. It wasn’t until a hand came creeping across the table that Ciel snapped out of his thoughts and pushed away. 

“Thank you for the tea,” he said as he walked back into the hotel. There were plenty of models here for the fashion show, yet Ciel was the one Aleistor insisted on pestering. Annoyed, the boy pulled on his hat and made his way back to his room. 

He had given Sebastian the day off, and now, thinking back to how quickly the demon had left, it made Ciel wonder if Sebastian was getting impatient. He  _ was _ promised a soul, afterall, one that Ciel intended on delivering. 

The boy slipped off his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. There was no use trying to get inside a demon’s head. Sebastian never acted out his true intentions anyway. Ciel sighed, running his fingers over his dark hair, and pushed open the door to his bathroom. 

He startled, trying to grasp the sight in front of him. Blood specs decorated the white porcelain sink and streaks of the fluid ran the lengths of the walls. The towels were covered in red yet sat folded neatly on the counter. The sound of running water echoed off the tile walls, ringing sharp in Ciel’s ears. He reached around for a weapon, fingers tight on a hotel hairdryer. 

The shower curtains were drawn, steam rising out the top. There was certainly someone in there as a looming shadow moved just beyond the fabric. Ciel raised his makeshift weapon and yanked the curtains away. 

He was meet with the sight of an amused Sebastian, naked with water and soap running down his body. Blood was swirling away down the drain and more dripped off his hair. He took the hairdryer in Ciel’s hands and set it down on a nearby laundry basket before lifting the boy up and into the shower with him. 

“You look distraught,” Sebastian remarked, arms cornering Ciel against the cold tiles. His back shielded his master from the falling water but Ciel’s hair had still found a way to become damped. It leaked droplets down his flushed cheeks and Sebastian lowered his head to lap at the skin.

He kissed the line of Ciel’s jaw while the boy gathered his breathe, hands coming down to grip Sebastian’s waist. 

“Is it yours?” Ciel asked, voice timid and small. His eyes were frantic, blue seeking out any trace of liquid red. He ran his fingers over Sebastian’s smooth chest, feeling for any wounds. 

“You should know me better by now, young master.” The demon brushed back Ciel’s hair, taking the opportunity to place another kiss on the boy’s forehead.

“Why is there so much blood?” Ciel pressed on, squeezing his eyes shut as Sebastian insisted on covering his face in kisses. 

“I was hungrier than usual.” Ciel doubted that was the whole truth, but he let the matter slide. “Would you like to shower now?” Sebastian rubbed a generous amount of shampoo into Ciel’s hair, fingers massaging his scalp until he sighed in bliss.     

“I was going to take a bath, actually,” the boy said. The thought of sitting in a bath with Sebastian, both of them naked and covered in suds, made Ciel shiver with want. He whimpered as Sebastian’s hand crept lower, slathering soap over Ciel’s stomach and back. 

“We can move to the bath if you’d like,” the demon whispered into his ear. Ciel shook his head, then moaned loudly when Sebastian’s palm closed around his hard member. Sometimes, the demon was gentle, too gentle, Ciel thought. His touch became careful, as if Ciel was a porcelain doll. That only managed to complicate Ciel’s already complicated thoughts. 

Sebastian’s hands caressed his, fingers tracing symbols into his wet skin. Ciel couldn’t make them out; his eyes were closed in ecstasy. He could feel the demon growling, fangs extending to peak over his lip. Those red eyes were glowing, pupils slitted under hooded lids. Ciel dug his nails into Sebastian’s back, knowing the marks would fade in seconds.

He kept his eyes opened, watching, tracing over every single one of his demon’s features. He memorized the way Sebastian tasted, like smoke and heat. 

With his body sandwiched between the shower tiles and Sebastian’s moving chest, Ciel let his problems temporarily swirl down the drain. 

 

“One bullet should be good enough.” The old woman slide the weapon over the amber glass table. In the dim light, the gun almost looked like it was made of gold. 

“ _ Should? _ ” He picked up the weapon and tested its weight in his hand. It was like holding a feather. 

“How good is your aim?” Vincent smirked and shrugged his shoulders. The act of shooting a gun was nothing foreign to him. 

“Tell me about him.” The old woman leaned back, visibly annoyed. She crossed her arms, and when Vincent thought the conversation would end there, she sighed and smoothed out her skirt. 

“My father, Claude, was obsessed. He wanted to be a force to be reckoned with. We were poor.” Her eyes faded out of focus and she looked past Vincent’s shoulders. “He had dealt with some criminals a while back to earn money, but the debt grew too much. They killed my mother.” 

Seeing how Claude had been moments before his final end, Vincent had never thought he’d be capable of fathering anyone. 

“He pledged his soul, and Sebastian came.” The woman glanced down at the photograph Vincent had brought. Her fingers shook as they traced over the demon’s eyes. “He looked different back then, monstrous.” She drew invisible lines over where Sebastian’s hairline was. “He had horns. They sprouted out from here and twist around themselves, like a giant eland’s.” She covered the picture with her palm as if no longer able to bear the sight. “One bullet would kill him.” 

“My aim isn’t all that reliable,” Vincent noted. He shoved the gun into his bag. Claude’s daughter shook her head but slid an extra bullet across the table. 

“He was the devil but my father was the monster. He experimented with the supernatural, killed dozens of people and reanimated them just to tease his demon.” Her eyes were glazed over, distant.  

She stood, and Vincent could see how fatigue she was. She kept a cane by her side and her back was hunched. It made him realized he never wanted to be like her. He slide the bullets and their case into his jacket pocket and let the door swing freely behind him. 

He had everything he needed now: two burnt up souls, Claude’s notebooks, and the weapon made for killing demons. 

 

One of the things Ciel liked about Sebastian was that he was invincible. Another thing he liked was the color of the demon’s eyes, a red-brown that flashed scarlett. There was also the way Sebastian talked, his voice, which was always honeyed, and the face he made whenever Ciel said something unexpected. Ciel would never admit any of this outloud, of course, but he was allowing himself to think about it now, to make a mental list. Sebastian must never know. It would only inflate his already gigantic ego, Ciel thought, smirking to himself. 

“Would you like to share your thoughts with me?” The demon emerged from a little ice cream shop, carrying two cups of Ciel’s favorite frozen treat. He handed one to the boy sitting on the bench. 

“Not really.” Ciel shoveled a scoop into his mouth. “I didn’t know demons ate ice cream.” 

“We don’t. This is also for you.” 

“You know me so well.”

They were sitting riverside, watching gondolas bob on the water. Street lights danced over the rippling surface and the man-made river reflected back a sky of stars. Ciel’s hair, long dried after his shower, was being tousled by the early fall wind. He hadn’t bother with a hat. This wasn’t the United States, where his face was recognized everywhere he went. He dipped a spoon into the cup Sebastian held. 

“Has immortality ever felt boring?” The spoon swirled in the chocolate where Ciel held it. Sebastian was close and warm. 

“It can become quite taxing,” the demon replied. “There usually isn’t much to look forward to when time is abundant. Things change but it never really affects us. Most demons take on a contract to give themselves a brief sense of purpose, and the promise of a cultivated soul is hardly something any of us can pass up.”  

“Is it the same for you then? The contract give you a sense of purpose?” Sebastian met his eyes. They watched each other for a moment in silence. 

“That night on the bridge,” Sebastian started, “you were just a meal.” He looked away and Ciel knew the conversation was over. 

The boy turned back to the water. By the bank, a couple was stepping into a gondola. The man was red faced and frowning while the woman turned her nose up at her partner’s obvious discomfort. They both had grey hair, golden under the lamps. Ciel watched them until their gondola disappeared around a corner.  

Sebastian never said what he meant, but Ciel didn’t need his clarification tonight.   

The demon watched the same sky he had seen for decades. All the stars had been committed to memory long ago. When he was human, vulnerable and naive, the earth and its sky was all that interested him. For a while now, it was no longer the earth that surprised him, but the humans that grew beneath its sky. He allowed himself a glance at Ciel, at the boy that had managed to capture all his attention and interest. For the first time in a long time, he was uncertain about the future. Time was no longer abundant.   

 

In a dark building at the corner of Venice, Italy, six bodies laid ripped apart. Their souls had been consumed early that morning; all that was left of them now was their physical selves and gone was their use to Vincent Phantomhive.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the people who saw this fic hadn't been updated in three months and continued to read and comment on it anyway. I love you. Receiving encouraging comments at unexpected times never fails to make me smile. Comments in general make me smile (wink wink).


	10. Even With All Your Claws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: major character death

An afternoon in Venice was always ideal. The was the sun, its rays bouncing off the iridescent water of the canals. The buildings, all in different shades of blush pink, curved and danced on the surface of the rippling waves. Vincent leaned over the side of the gondola and stuck his hand under the cold water. The lights from the lamps made his hand look washed in blood. 

“How much longer,” he asked, eyes still on the way his fingers glowed beneath the surface. 

“About five more minutes, sir.” The man’s english was not very good, but Vincent got the most of it. His attention was already drifting off, anyway. 

His reflection was staring back at him with solemn eyes, eyes that seemed too blue to be his, which were brown and dark and never this beautiful. This was the color of Rachel’s eyes, Rachel who he had loved until she gave him something that stole his heart away. It was a trick of the light, but in the water, Vincent could swear he say Ciel. He brushed his fingers over the boy’s face, which distorted his features and made his frown monstrous. His touch was unwanted so Vincent pulled his hand back, body still leaning over the side of the gondola waiting for Ciel to come back to the surface. 

Vincent was sick, he knew that well enough. It was so obvious that he didn’t need a psychologist to tell him. Some of his friends shook away their desires, invested in countless whores and copious amounts of alcohol and drugs. But Vincent liked to keep a clear mind, and Ciel could never be replaced. No one had his hair, soft and the same color of Vincent’s own, or his eyes, a blue that resembled sapphire. 

Ciel’s betrayal had hurt. The boy was, after all, his greatest creation. Do you let the only object of your affection slip through your fingers? Of course not. How silly would that be, to let the son he’d spent years grooming fall into that disgusting demon’s palms. 

The gondola came to a stop and Vincent padded his coat. It was time. 

 

_ Meet me _ . 

He stared at those words for hours, trapped in their gray bubble. Underneath them was an address, but his mind hadn’t gotten to that yet. He squinted, as if that would reveal some hidden meaning in the text message, before clicking off his phone and squeezing his eyes shut. So much for getting rid of his father. 

“Would you like tea?” 

“I would like you to shut up for a minute so I can think!” Ciel yelled, hurling a fluffed pillow across the hotel room. They were still in Venice. It was only four in the afternoon and their plane was not scheduled to fly until midnight. 

Sebastian’s head popped out from the doorway to the connected kitchen. The demon was grinning, which only managed to piss Ciel off more. For the past hour, he had been promptly ignoring the text messages from Vincent and had instead chosen to bake. Ciel didn’t know  _ what _ Sebastian was baking, nor did he care (that was what he was trying to convince himself of anyway), but the entire suite smelled like vanilla and the boy was practically drooling. 

Ciel groaned, dropping his head in his hands and sucking in deep gulps of air. 

“You must learn to control your temper, young master.” The warm breath on his ear started him, his cheeks glowing red as he pushed himself away from Sebastian, who had appeared like a ghost right behind him. 

“Fuck off,” Ciel growled, swatting Sebastian away with his arms. The demon was quicker, as expected, and caught both thin wrists. He was kneeling over Ciel’s waist now, fangs protruding and pupils slitted. 

“Would you like me to help you relax?” Sebastian asked, leaning down to flick his tongue at the base of Ciel’s throat. With his arms pinned above his head and Sebastian’s face buried in the crook of his neck, Ciel’s pulse sped away until he was struggling for breath, mouth dried and eyes darting around in panic. Suddenly, he was in his childhood home again and Vincent was sucking hickeys onto his skin. 

“I don’t...” Ciel bit his lip, feeling tears gather at the corners of his eyes. The pressure on his wrists disappeared and the weight on top of him shifted. 

“Ciel,” called a voice that certainly did not belong to Vincent. Ciel wrapped his arms around himself, eyes still shut. The darkness was comforting, but the silence in the room made the whispers in his head turn to screams. “Young Master?” 

The demon stood a few feet away, head cocked to the side and brows furrowed. The sight of him was such a relief to the boy, whose breathing was interrupted by little sobs that he tried to swallow. His face was wet with tears, which he angrily brushed away with the sleeves of his shirt. 

Sebastian came to knelt by his master, careful to keep his movements slow. “May I touch you?” he asked, and waited for Ciel’s hesitant nod to reach over and check the boy’s temperature. “I’m going to get you some water.” 

“Stay.” His voice was weak, would have fallen on deaf ears if Sebastian had been a human. 

The order made sure he obeyed, but Sebastian knew it went deeper than that. Their contract was a surface. Ciel made room on the couch and Sebastian sat down beside him. Immediately, the boy flew into his arms. 

Sebastian did not question his master, not even when Ciel hastily unbuttoned his shirt and grind their crotches together, demanding that Sebastian kept his eyes on him all the while. He moved with a neediness painted in desperation, and Sebastian was nothing if not entranced. The boy carved dominance onto the surface of Sebastian’s skin with his teeth, marks that trailed up his hips to his collarbones. They would fade in a hour or so; sometimes, being a demon was a disadvantage. 

Sebastian left his own trail, more permanent ones, in the form of teeth marks on Ciel’s shoulders. His master welcomed them, tilted his head back to allow Sebastian more access. The demon knew he was being used, that Ciel was taking out his frustrations and anger on his dutiful servant, but when the boy looked at his demon, cheeks flushed and lips parted and wet, Sebastian knew he did not care. 

He was Ciel’s after all, Ciel’s to have as many times as the boy demanded, needed, wanted, until the ropes that bound them loosened. But Sebastian feared, as he pressed kisses to Ciel’s mouth, that he shall belong to his master well after their contract ends. 

 

Vincent did not send a third message. Perhaps he thought the first two were all his son needed to come to his side or perhaps he didn’t care enough to provide a reason for wanting a meeting. Ciel pondered over the two possibilities before deciding that it did not matter and dropping the issue altogether. He would not meet his father. He would not even reply. 

Instead, he went out to dinner with his demon, both of them dressed in suits, and waited until it was time to board their plane. Neither of them spoke much, not about what had occurred between them an hour ago nor the elephant that was Vincent Phantomhive taking up all the oxygen in the room. 

The lighting in the restaurant was dim and the bare bulbs hanging over their table seemed to be doing the minimum amount of work. They swung back and forth together, eternally tangled. 

“I will meet him on  _ my _ terms,” Ciel finally said, digging a fork into his panna cotta. Sebastian watched patiently from the opposite side of the table. They were seated across from each other at a table made for two, like lovers would. The thought made the demon grin softly to himself. They were lovers in the same way bananas are berries, technically but not really, because admitting so would cause a dizzying uncertainty about reality and its workings. A demon did not make a lover out of a human, who was weak and quick to die. Humans made better pets, to be trained and adored until it was time to harvest their soul. They had no place nestled in a demon’s arms under silk sheets and bathe in moonlight. 

He should leave, go as far away from this twisted boy in front of him as this tiny earth would allow, but he’d left once and look how that’d turned out. 

“Sebastian? Are you listeni-”

 

The blast was ear splittingly loud. It rocked the little restaurant and sent debri and people flying into the air. A girl’s red dress was rose petals suspended against the gray wallpaper, her limbs contorted in uncomfortable ways. She looked at him for a portion of a second, eyes filled with a fear one only had right before death, then gravity took back control and her body hit the ground like a sack of flour thrown too carelessly. 

He was across the room, lying on his stomach by some chunk of concrete that was struggling to hold itself together. There was a ringing in his ears, a sound that drown out any other, even his own voice in his head. He was telling himself to get up, only he couldn’t hear it. His body was too tired, anyway, to make much sense of his instructions. It was content lying numb on the dusty tile floor. 

His hands, the only part of him that did not feel like rubber, burned from scratches and cuts. Blood oozed onto the floor and with his body refusing to go anywhere, he laid there and studied the swirls. He was only able to follow the messy streaks of his own blood when the light shut off and darkness blanketed him like snow over a town in winter. 

The ringing was diluted now, and he was able to hear screaming. Mothers were calling out to their children and the greatly injured were crying for help they would not soon get. He didn’t know if he was injured. He still couldn’t feel his legs or much of his torso; did that mean they were gone? He tried not to think about it, tried instead to squint in the darkness. His sight was much worse than usual, he now realized. 

A light cut through the black chaos; two lights, actually. They were small and glowed a cherry red. 

He stretched out his fingers, the best he could do movement wise. It turned out he didn’t need to do more as a pair of hands scooped him up from the ground. Ciel could feel the warmth that was Sebastian pressed so tightly against his body. 

The demon carried him out from the rubble to the front of what was left of the restaurant. There he gingerly set Ciel down on the sidewalk and began to inspect the boy’s wounds. 

Sharp pain was setting in now that Ciel could feel the numbness fading. His leg must be broken; his arm certainly was. There was something wrong with his vision as well. It felt as if only one of his eyes were working. He opened his mouth to tell Sebastian but was interrupted by the sound of boots coming towards them. Ciel winced as he turned his head to side, expecting to see police officers. 

Instead, his father stood with a grim frown and disappointment in his eyes. 

 

“I’ve always warned you against testing my temper, Ciel.” Vincent knelt and spoke in a way that made it clear he was ignoring the demon crouched between him and his son. “Look at you. Look what you made me do.” He gestured to the street, which had been blown to bits. “My tracking skills aren’t very specific,” Vincent said, lips pressed together. “You got the better end of the blast,” he commented, as if that was something Ciel should be grateful for. 

“You are disgusting,” Ciel spat out. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and when he coughed, more came to puddle on the ground. 

“I am your father.” Vincent stood and Sebastian mimicked his movements. “You know, Claude was an idiot, but he had the right idea.” He turned, eyes trailing up Sebastian’s body to land on the demon’s bared fangs. “This is the most invincible species I have ever laid eyes on.” 

“If you try do what he did, Sebastian will kill you.” Ciel grabbed hold of his demon’s tattered sleeve and pulled himself to his feet, careful to keep his weight on his right foot. 

“There is no try. I have everything I need. Well, I had souls ready for harvest but I’m guessing your dog gobbled that up. I suppose I’ll just hunt after I transform.” A gun, its surface gleaming under the moonlight, was being pulled out of Vincent’s pocket. 

He held it up, cocked it, and aimed for his son. 

“Claude got it only partially right. A blackened soul was needed, but only a blackened soul could be transformed. So you can either join me, or you can die.” 

“I want nothing to do with you.”

 

A regular bullet did nothing to a demon, but it could kill humans so easily. It made perfect sense to push Ciel out of the way and let himself take the shot, but Sebastian must had underestimated the pain. Something was severely wrong. Bullets did not feel like this. They did not feel like they were melting away his insides, ripping apart his cells. He stayed on the floor, hands clutching his chest where the metal had gone through. His master was a few feet away, although Sebastian wanted him to be further. He was screaming and the sound only made Sebastian ache more. 

Vincent was standing over him, saying something about demon-killing weapons. Normally, Sebastian could reach out with his darkness and kill the man in seconds. He had wings and claws and fangs. He was a creature of nightmares, reduced to nothing but a bloody mess. 

“Father!” Ciel was yelling, and Sebastian was pleased to notice that there was so much anger in his voice. He was little ball of fire; Sebastian hoped he wouldn’t burn out. “Father, please! Look at me. You’re scaring me.” His voice was softer now, delicate and child-like. “I’m sorry, daddy. It hurts so much and I was scared. I’ll come with you, okay? I’ll be good.” 

Sebastian could hear Vincent, his boots thumping against the ground as he made his way over to where Ciel was standing, body leaning heavily against a bent pole. His body screamed in protest when he tried to move it, but Ciel was in danger so Sebastian pushed on. He crawled and dragged himself closer to his master, but Vincent turned and kicked him aside. 

“Your pet is getting on my nerves, Ciel. Tell him to stay.” 

Ciel’s eyes, which looked mismatched under the light, were filled with tears. He mouthed at Sebastian, a command that he had no choice but to obey. 

He watched, frustrated and shaking, as Ciel wrapped his arms around his father’s shoulders and pulled him close. The boy shivered against Vincent’s touch, but sighed and nuzzled his head in the croak of the man’s neck. 

“It’s incredible,” Ciel whispered. His eyes were locked on Sebastian’s and they held the saddest expression the demon had ever seen. “You still melt like butter in my palm.” 

Sebastian couldn’t make out what was happening. Ciel was so far away. All he heard was Vincent making a choking sound before a gunshot went off and the man’s body fell limp to the floor. He stared at it, dead and bloody, and wondered if that was how he was going to look in a while. 

“Seb?” Ciel’s hands are warm, pressed against his cheeks. “Tell me you’ll be alright.” 

Sebastian forced on a grin, even though he was sure his mouth was full of blood. “I’ll be alright,” he said, voice having lost all its smoothness. 

The silence was too much because in it, he could hear Ciel’s stifled crying. He could feel his master’s sadness as if it were his own. Sebastian chose a place to start, and he told Ciel a story to fill the quiet. He wished there was more time. Ciel’s smile was too warm to be finite. He must have said this outloud because the boy blushed and cried and laughed all at once. Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sebastian’s lips. 

“Stay with me. That’s an order,” Ciel said, words that he knew would not change their ending. 

“I’m afraid I can’t, young master.” He wished he could, wished that their contract was still intact, but Vincent was dead and Sebastian knew the limited power of orders. They couldn’t bring the dead back to life. “You would be awfully tired of me soon anyway,” he joked. Ciel stroked his cheeks, wiping away tears Sebastian didn’t know demons could shed. 

“I wouldn’t. I love you.” Sebastian wanted to hold him forever. 

“Even with all my fangs?” Ciel laughed and pressed their foreheads together. 

“Yes. Even with all your claws.” 

He whispered “I love you” to Sebastian a million times, knowing that his feelings did not matter to the cruel monster in charge of their fates. He whispered his love even as police finally arrived and paramedics tried to pull them away from each other, because what did he have now when his father had stolen everything from him? What was left after Sebastian’s heart stopped beating?    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I TOOK FOREVER TO UPDATE IM SORRY. In other news, All Your Claws is coming to an end soon (maybe like 1 or 2 chapters left). Thank you to everyone who stood with me since the beginning and all the people who joined somewhere in the middle. Don't forget to leave comments and kudos!


	11. Anyway

His grandparents had always said that circumstances made a person. By their logic, circumstances made Sebastian cruel. 

He wasn’t always, had once knew love and kindness, but then fire tore away his whole town and sickness took his family by the hand, then slowly by the throat. He went from starving to begging to stealing, always dressed in rags and never quite full. Comfort escaped him though he relentlessly chased after it. He chased after a lot and ran away from a lot, stuck between two impossibilities.  

It was his hopelessness that drew the darkness to him. His viciousness tempted it to stay. His hatred for humanity enchanted it, and the deepest shadows had no choice but to fall in love with him. 

Demons were not born. They were made, made from a soul so broken that no light could touch it.  

The night his human skin melted away to reveal charred bones and skeletal wings, Sebastian had screamed and cried. He had sat in front of a cracked mirror when the pain began, and during his fury, he peered at himself in the shards of glass. His eyes were tearless and his irises red, the only source of light in his little corner of the woods. Horns protruded from his head and fangs as long as his fingers hung over his bottom lip. His wings were giant and his toes and fingers had been replaced with claws. 

Being a demon came so naturally to him that he had forgotten his humanity after only a handful of months. It took him decades to find it again but he still had not truly remembered what it was like to be human until his heart stopped beating and Ciel Phantomhive whispered pleads into his hair. 

 

A month after the death of Vincent Phantomhive. That was how long Sebastian had forgotten Ciel. 

He had woken up in a hospital, eyes blurry and hands shaking as he struggled to recognize his surroundings. There was an angel in a white shirt standing next to him, fingers entwined with his. The angel had bags under his eyes and an expression that made Sebastian concern. It took him minutes too long to realize that this was just a boy, a boy that introduced himself as Sebastian’s boyfriend and threw a fit when the doctors wheeled Sebastian away from him for tests. 

That was a month ago. 

Now, Ciel stood whistling in the kitchen of their apartment while Sebastian stared out at the city streets below. Yellow cabs honked at each other; something about the image made Sebastian grimace, although he did not know why. 

“Ready?” Ciel wrapped an arm around Sebastian’s waist and passed him a travel mug that smelled of hot tea. 

“Are you sure I’m good to drive?” Sebastian asked as they made their way to the elevator. Ciel nodded, pressing a set of keys into Sebastian’s palms. 

They had planned a trip down to the beach house for the weekend. The smaller man tugged his hat low over his head and urged his boyfriend to do the same. Even though Ciel had told his agents, and a very grievous Nina, that he was taking a break from modelling, paparazzi still followed him relentlessly. They had started training their cameras on Sebastian, since he was usually easier to spot in a crowd no matter how many hats Ciel forced on his head. 

“I already see them running up so make it quick, if you don’t mind,” Ciel snapped at the bellhop carrying his luggage. Sebastian stilled, brows furrowed as he froze on the sidewalk. “Seb?” 

“I-I’m sorry…” He got in the driver’s seat, still slightly dazed. Ciel placed the large cactus he was bringing as a present for Alois in the backseat, then frowned. 

“I’m going to sit here. If I don’t hold it, it’ll tip and dirt will get all over the car.” The succulent was so large that it needed its own seat. Sebastian stared at the thing in his rearview mirror, fingers tapping nervously on the wheel. 

“What if  _ I _ hold it and  _ you _ drive? It’s rather heavy and-”

“You drove fine yesterday, Sebastian,” Ciel interjected, firmly closing the car door as he slid into the backseat. 

“Yes, but that was just down the block.” 

“If you can drive in the city, you can drive anywhere.” Sebastian glared at the road, then hesitantly merged with the traffic. 

Ciel stared out the car window with a frown. Before, he had not minded that there were pictures of him on nearly every billboard, but lately it had irked him to no end. There was something about not being able to control his image that made him uneasy. 

“Ugh, my face is practically on every building,” he complained under his breath. The car screeched to a halt. Car horns began to sound off behind them as angry drivers grew impatient. Ciel glanced in Sebastian’s direction and caught his eyes in the little rearview mirror. They were brown, a dark and chocolate brown that held no red, and they were wide. “What is it?” Ciel asked, already digging around in his bag for Sebastian’s pills. 

“You’ve said that before.” His voice was so soft that Ciel had to lean forward to hear him. 

“I have?” He didn’t remember, although he had been complaining about the billboards for quite a while now. Ciel shrugged while Sebastian resumed his driving, head still spinning.

 

When they arrived at the beach house, Ciel set Alois’ birthday present on the living room table and pulled open the patio doors. In the backyard was a large pool, the water crystal clear as it had been cleaned that morning in preparation for their arrival. Giddy, the boy threw on his swim trunks and shouted for Sebastian to join him. He hadn’t been in a pool for so long, and the last time he had, Claude had nearly eaten him. 

Ciel dipped one precautious toe into the water while Sebastian stood watching nearby, still dressed in his travel clothes. There was something about the pool that threw him off, though he didn’t, couldn’t know what. 

Then Ciel leapt off the edge and time seemed to slow. Water droplets hung in the air, waiting for Sebastian’s epiphany to come send them off. 

The memories rushed at him one at a time, played on a reel that hovered in midair. He saw Claude, leaning greedy over Ciel’s cold body, chlorine water dripping off his lifeless fingertips. 

Sebastian ran and gravity raced against him. Ciel was already deep under the water by the time Sebastian reached him, long pants ballooning as he kicked furiously. His damn shoes sunk to the bottom faster than he did. Ciel spotted them, frowned, then looked up at the same time Sebastian collided with him. 

He was not a demon anymore and he had no swam in so long that his lungs burned and Ciel ended up being the one to pull him from the water. 

“Are you an idiot?” the boy yelled. He threw a towel at Sebastian as the older man coughed. “Why would you do that? You could have drowned! Do you have any idea how fucking  _ heavy _ you are?” 

“My apologies, young master. I have no idea what came over me.” The second the words left his lips, they both glanced up at each other, eyes as wide as moons. 

The first thing Sebastian had done once he was Sebastian again, was kiss Ciel so hard the boy struggled to breathe. The second thing Sebastian did was held him as he cried and cursed. His tears mixed with the chlorine on his lips but Sebastian couldn’t stop kissing him, hands grabbing and sliding over Ciel’s wet skin, memorizing all that he had stupidly forgotten. He wished Ciel’s arms were buildings and Ciel’s chest was the sky just because there was so little of him now that Sebastian couldn’t get enough. 

“Stop!” Ciel growled out, shoving harshly at Sebastian’s shoulders. “I’m angry at you!” 

“How do I make it up to you, baby boy?” Sebastian gathered Ciel in his arms and pressed another rebellious kiss on his arm. 

“I’m tired. I want to sleep.” 

And they slept. They slept for a total of five minutes before Ciel couldn’t take it anymore. He had missed Sebastian so much that it physically hurted. His throat felt like he had swallowed desert sand and his eyes burned from all the crying. 

He straddled Sebastian’s lap and kissed all his pain into Sebastian’s lips. It had been so long but when Sebastian wrapped his arms around Ciel’s waist, they melted against each other. Everything Ciel did, the way he moaned and cried out, Sebastian memorized. He saved all his lover’s smiles and sly smirks and cherished every frown Ciel made when Sebastian teased him.  

“Do you still love me?” Sebastian asked, hand caressing Ciel’s cheek. He already knew the answer. Knew it the moment Ciel turned and nuzzled his head against Sebastian’s hand. 

“Difficult question now that you lost all your claws and horns,” Ciel replied, pretending to ponder. 

“We could go to the costume store if you want,” Sebastian suggested, grinning.

“Nah. It’s not the same.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I suppose I love you like this, too.” 

“Good, because I’m sure I’m stuck as a boring human.” 

“Hey! As a human, I’m offended,” Ciel said, mocking a frown. 

“Don’t worry, even though you’re human, I love you anyway.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for leaving you all for so long. This was a hard chapter to write, mostly because it is the last chapter and I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about it. It's still not perfect to me, but it's the best I can do at 1 am. Thank you for reading this whole fic to the end. I can't believe there were so many of you. While this isn't my first sebaciel fic, it is the first sebaciel fic that I've completed. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Please come follow me on tumblr @ [orangeships](https://orangeships.tumblr.com/) and feel free to send me as many asks as you want. I loved every singled one of your comments and am so grateful for all the love you've given this fic. Thank you.


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